Caught By a Cobra
by Aurora Bluewolf
Summary: After the Joes lost to Cobra, Snake Eyes has to keep his freedom by running from Storm Shadow. Then again, Storm Shadow might have something to offer him other than just freedom... SS/SE, Duke/CC, maybe others. Slash, yaoi, hot ninjas kissing, humor
1. Chapter 1

Ok so this is my first GI Joe fic. Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow pairing mainly, Duke/Cobra Commander on the side. Maybe a few more depending on where this one goes. Reviews inspire me~

All Characters in GI Joe belong to Hasbro. Cheap bastards.

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Caught by a Cobra

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It was over. The Joes had lost the war against Cobra and their base was taken over by the end of the first day. Most of the troops had been captured, and some had been scattered to the winds. Snake Eyes was one of the few that hadn't been caught yet, but living on the run was certainly no fun for the black clad ninja. The last few months had been sheer hell, running from cave to cave in the higher mountains of the Rockies. He had to keep moving though, never staying in the same cave for more than a night. The lower mountains were crawling with Cobra operatives, and even setting a foot outside of the caves during daylight hours was going to get him captured just like the others.

Snake Eyes had been listening into the conversations from Cobra's radio frequencies since he spliced into their system on that dreadful day. He had to admit, years of training with various Joes made him extremely knowledgeable about everything- from cooking with Roadblock to technological advancements with Dial Tone. He missed them all right now, they'd become a second family to him since the deaths of his own family before he returned home from the war… the only person that was missing from his new family was his sword brother. Without him, it wouldn't be complete, and Snake Eyes had planned to try to get him to come with the Joes eventually. The plan just never had time to pan out when they were fighting on the battlefield rather than talking.

Scarlett had been captured about 3 weeks ago, in a hotel in San Diego. They managed to corner her in her room and overtake her with numbers. Snake Eyes had told her to go her own way after they escaped from the base, mostly for tactical reasons. And the fact that he was having some issues with having her around…he was thinking more of a certain white clad ninja from the Arashikage clan when they were together, and rarely thinking of her in between their kisses and brushes. Hell, he could barely keep her in his mind while pressing her into the bed… and the fact that he couldn't complete the act without thinking about Tommy was bothering him. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, in fear that he might lose a friend and a lover if Scarlett knew… and if Tommy found out, he'd never speak to his sword brother again. It was too shameful to even think about it…

Roadblock was captured four and a half weeks ago, in a museum in Washington D.C.; where Destro had taken him down in a hand to hand combat scenario.

Tunnel Rat was caught in the first week, beneath the Joe's 'former' base. He was trying to find a way to take the base back by force and keeping the Joe's files safe. He ended up destroying them before he was captured, which made Cobra's search that much harder.

Falcon had been caught on the day they were taken over, fighting to the end with Hawk, Duke, Flint, Lady Jaye, and the others. Last Snake Eyes heard about them, they were being treated like prisoners of war… save for Duke.

Duke was said to be held by Cobra Commander himself. No one had said anything about him over the radio frequencies… and the last time he'd heard anything about him was the day they were captured. Cobra Commander was chuckling to himself about Duke's capture, holding the former commander's chin in his hand to force him to look at the blue clad commander's grey steel mask while Snake Eyes watched from above the conference room in the ventilation system. Tommy had thankfully not come along on this raid… though Snake Eyes knew why. The injury he'd given them in their last fight was serious, and even with immediate medical attention, there was no way that the white clad ninja would be active for a few weeks. The slash that Snake Eyes had made in his sword brother's arm managed to cut through four necessary muscle groups that controlled the basic movements of the arm. It hurt like hell to receive the injury, and if not treated within twenty four hours, it could result in the loss of the arm all together. Tommy managed to get back to base in five hours time, and their medics saved his arm, but landed him on restricted movement until further notice. Snake Eyes only fear was that Tommy healed quickly, and was on the prowl by now.

Cobra Commander had taken Duke as his own prize, keeping him chained up beside his new throne… the president's office. When Cobra had eliminated the Joes, they had no one to stand in their way of taking over the US government, and within a week the entire North American Continent had been conquered. Within the next 2 weeks, they conquered Europe and Africa… then Asia in the next week. Australia and South America came next, falling in less than five days with divided forces from Cobra. Cobra met with no resistance once they had control of the United States- including all of its weaponry, resources, and political influence. They ravaged the countries that once stood as their own homelands, and declared themselves the rulers. If radio records showed true, Destro and the Baroness had taken Europe as theirs, naming themselves the new king and queen of the entire continent. Zartan and his forces took Australia, Africa and South America, mostly for the terrain. Storm Shadow had been given all of Asia, and a nice little citadel on each continent to begin training new forces for Cobra Commander's standing army of enforcers. Cobra Commander has taken his role as Emperor of the World… and Snake Eyes was one of the only three targets left on his list to capture.

Other than him, the only ones left were Spirit and Kamakura. Spirit was away on a small mission in his native tribe's lands at the time of the invasion, and had remained there. Kamakura was taking a few days of to heal from his injuries from the recent battles, and was staying with his family while he was on Oxycodon for the minor surgical incisions that resulted from endoscopic surgeries. He's managed to get his ribs busted up and one of them nicked his pancreas, which caused it to leak fluids slowly into his lower chest and upper stomach area. He noticed the pain as soon as he returned from the mission, and Doc had treated him within two hours, preventing any real organ damage. Snake Eyes sent both a message saying to keep their heads low until further notice. They were safe where they were right now. Kamakura was young, there was no need to place him in danger, and Spirit had a good life where he was, why drag him into a fray when he could stay safe?

And speaking of necessary small surgeries, Snake Eyes was sure his old injuries were catching up to him. He had a slowly increasing pain in his lower right side. The pain had not relented as he tried to sleep the night before, and he began to toss and turn on his cave floor, covered in only a few blankets on the hard ground hidden behind the rocks with the moonlight flooding in behind him. The rocks gave him good coverage in this outcrop, covering him as he slept, but to anyone who entered the cave while he rested, it just looked like a large boulder was there. And since he'd doused the fire a few hours beforehand, no one could see the light from it. It was rather cold this time of year, but then again, he'd been out in the mountains for about 4 months now. It had to be October by now, if not November. Hard to tell when the changing trees were the same green pine up here, slowly being covered by the previous night's snow. It wouldn't be long until he had to find another source of warmth than Timber's head on his lap. The wolf had followed him this far, chances were he'd continue to follow him until he went back to the city. Then again… maybe it would be smarter to stay out here. With his injuries from the helicopter crash, he wasn't too sure if returning to regular society would be an easy transition of a military ninja…

After all, one couldn't wear a mask in an office building and not grab attention, or try to teach children the way of the martial artist when the parents never saw his face. But staying up here… in the peaceful mountains… away from everyone who would judge him… with his best friend, Timber… living off the land and relaxing whenever he wanted… catching his own food, getting his own wood for fire… it seemed so easy; all he really had to do was build a new cabin. Perhaps dig out a huge pit and cover it while he worked. Then build a small covered opening and bury the rest, to conserve heat in the winter and keep his head low until Cobra stopped looking for him…

A jolt of pain ripped through his stomach as he moved again. The aliment was getting worse. Darkness was turning to daylight, and Timber awoke when his master gripped his side in pain. He whined as he looked at his master with big puppy eyes. He knew something was wrong, but he had no idea how to make his master feel better.

Snake Eyes relaxed his muscles as he tried to ease his own pain with mental control. He looked at the young wolf's deep orange eyes and smiled at him, resting his free hand on the wolf's head and stroking it ever so gently. He started to get up to head down to the river and catch their breakfast. Not much was swimming these days, but it was easier to avoid guards in the middle of the dawn hours than after the sun had completely risen. After that, they could see the ninja's black armor in any light until sunset. He had to catch as much food as possible in this hour, and then make it back up to Timber and his belongings before he was caught.

Snake Eyes rose to his feet and started to run down the hill, slipping between the darkened shadows of the first minutes of dawn and the trees lower branches. He saw that a few had been cut by a large knife or sword… no… Storm Shadow wouldn't be here. He was still injured… he couldn't have healed that quickly.

Snake Eyes pressed forward and dodged a few more trees on his freefall down towards the river. He was forced to stop for a few minutes as he staved off the pain by focusing on his memories, trying to get some positive emotions running through his mind instead of pain. He managed to get up again, and finished walking the few meters to the river to catch his breakfast and hopefully lunch.

After about 40 minutes, Snake Eyes had caught his and Timber's breakfast. Two large fish. He couldn't remember what type specifically, but they were good enough. He was hoping the dawn would be more forgiving, but he had to run as his darkness was turning into light. He had to find some vegetables if he was going to eat lunch at all. He ran back towards his cave, grabbing a few leafy grape vines and some potato plants, figuring he'd just wash them back at the cave in the small trickle that came from the cave ceiling in the back. It was strong and pure enough to clean his vegetables. He would bath at night in the stream down below instead of trying to bath in the trickle that was only as big as his hand. Thanks to its smaller size, the water never let off that much noise, so it didn't give his position away.

When he arrived back at his cave, he saw two blue clad soldiers walking towards his previous position near the river. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear if they caught him here. He was still in a lot of pain, and trying to take on fully armed, battle ready Cobra soldiers was a very bad idea. Chances are that if he even moved near them, they'd take him out in a heartbeat- mostly due to the fact that he couldn't run quickly with the pain in his side.

Snake Eyes walked to the back wall of the cave, hidden behind the stalagmites and stalactites that added perfect coverage for him while he stayed here. He sat against the back wall and placed his food items to the side, resting the two fish on the grape vine leaves to keep them off the ground while he built up a small fire. As the fish cooked a few minutes later over the subtle flames, he started to wonder where his life was going. He was in a military specialized force… and they had been defeated. He was in love, but he felt nothing for the woman he was suppose to be in love with. He was a ninja without a clan… so what was he suppose to do with his life?

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard footfalls outside of the cave. He extinguished the fire with some dirt from the floor of the cave and pressed his body against the rocks behind him, grabbing Timber and holding his mouth shut to keep him quiet. The last thing he needed right now was to have his loyal wolf give away his position. Timber tried to whine for a second, only to have Snake Eyes glance at him silence the low winded sound. The footsteps got closer slowly, each one echoing off of the cave walls, threatening him as they came nearer to his position. He held his breathe, praying not to be found, and then heard a familiar, oddly calming voice.

"There's no one in the cave. Return to the camp site, I'll keep searching for anything in this one…" the voice growled. That melodious voice could only belong to one man… Tommy was here… his injuries had healed sooner than Snake Eyes expected. He was now dealing with a ninja who was trained by his clan… and frankly was a little bit better than him in most of the subjects. Tommy knew how to track, and even in this cave, covered by a stone floor, the chances of him getting out without Tommy finding him were next to none.

Snake Eyes heard footsteps approaching him, steady and strong. The closer they got the more Snake Eyes thought about running… he could sprint, jump out of the cave and try to fight off Storm Shadow himself… or he could stay put and pray that he wasn't found.

As the footsteps got closer to him, he held his breath. He didn't know what to do…

Step… step…step…stop.

And then the footsteps moved away. Tommy must have been less than 3 feet from Timber and him… and he didn't see them! Oh thank the heavens that he wasn't found.

Snake Eyes took a moment to catch his breath, relaxing his muscles from the stress of a near miss.

It was almost nightfall as Snake Eyes stood up and gathered himself. Timber started to walk towards the cave mouth, clearly needing to use the forest floor or a nearby tree. Snake Eyes stretched and followed closely after. Holding his water for that long had been tense, and he was still human. Time up here passed a lot faster in the winter months, and his pain made it seem that much more fast when he was trying to focus on something else. It must have been well past dinner time at the Joes regular schedule by now. The sun was setting and there were only a few more minutes to go until he could wander the forest freely to find dinner and get a little exercise. The sunsets up here were gorgeous… but he missed the old fashioned dinners in the Pit, the spaghetti nights and feared burrito dinners. He missed Scarlett a little... Duke more… and he feared for his students the most. He loved them like children… and he'd always liked the idea of having a family of his own. Too bad that looked so far away now. Chances were Storm Shadow would find him, and he'd be taken to prison soon enough… or turned into Storm Shadow's personal jester… or perhaps target practice…

Timber was already leading the way when Snake Eyes followed him. He walked down the darkened pathways formed by deer, moose, and wolves over the years. Not many bears up here thankfully, either that or they were all hibernating.

Snake Eyes felt a sudden sharp pain in his side and gripped it hard as he tried not to fall down. He stopped, grabbing the side of the mountain cliff and holding on tightly, trying to will it away.

"You know… it's pretty clear when you have a serious medical condition. Perhaps you shouldn't fight it this time and let us take care of you…" A cold, deep voice said from behind him. It was an unmistakable voice too. Tommy…

Snake Eyes whipped his head around as quickly as he could and looked at the white clad man. Storm Shadow approached him slowly. All the weapons stayed in their holsters… and Timber was nowhere to be found. Snake Eye kept his crouched position, gripping his side with all his strength. Storm Shadow stopped only a foot from him and kneeled. He reached out to gently pull the stubborn hands away from the other man's side, looking at the spot for any indication of what was ailing his sword brother. All he saw was the same toned muscular body that he'd trained with for so many years rippling under his touch. No sign of bites, scratches or human weaponry damage. It had to be something internal.

"Let me see… did you eat something you weren't suppose to ingest? Or did you just start feeling this pain?" Storm Shadow asked, gently running his fingertips over the black clad man's injured area. Snake Eyes only glared at him, and started to reach for his swords as stiffly as he could. Storm Shadow grabbed the younger man's wrist and pulled him into a hug, which earned a pained motion from the voiceless man. Storm Shadow actually felt bad about the pained expression, but held Snake Eyes close while removing his swords.

"Relax brother… you are in a lot of pain… and judging from the area of your pain… I'd say it's something serious. Let us take you back home and get you fixed up…I won't lose you to this when it can be fixed." Storm Shadow said while throwing the black colored swords over his own shoulder, and gathering up the struggling man into his arms.

"Don't fight it, you'll only end up hurting yourself more… and we can finish this arrangement when you are better. I won't hunt an injured man at an unfair disadvantage. That's not good sportsmanship…" Storm Shadow said as several Cobra guards came up behind them. Storm Shadow really didn't want to interact with the blue clad men right now, Snake Eyes was his only concern. But then again, he could get them to tie up the loose ends here while he attended to his lo- brother. Brother.

"Your orders sir?" One of them said. Storm Shadow turned to them, holding the black clad, pain stricken man tightly in his arms like a child would their favorite and most beloved toy.

"Get his belongings, they are in that cave. Also tranquilize the wolf and bring him with us. Don't hurt him. I want the wolf alive and well." Snake Eyes barely heard the white clad man's orders as he was carried to one of the two nearby transports and carefully laid on a gurney. Before he could register what was going on, he felt a needle insert itself into his arm and the pain medication fill his systems, overtaking his mind in a haze of foggy surrender. The last thing he remembered was a warm blanket coming over his body and Storm Shadow looking down at him while covering him.

"Relax brother… you're safe for now…" Storm Shadow said, running his hand down the black clad man's cheek gently as he watched his sword brother's eyes droop from the medications. The transport began to take off as Storm Shadow sat down in the seat that would normally be occupied with a medic checking the vitals of injured soldiers, holding Snake Eyes unconscious hand in his own. He'd already lost his clan… he didn't want to lose his sword brother too. He could only think of the fond memories that entertained him while he was in Cobra as the transport headed back to the castle in hi new domain… and old stomping grounds.

Japan.

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And fin~

Ok, read, review, you know what to do~

And all criticism is taken constructively (as long as it's not intentionally abusive).


	2. Surgical Serpent

Ok second chapter! I'm kinda combining all the universes… cuz I like the way the movie explained some science things, but preferred the personal explanations in the other universes. As well as the range of characters. Movie had to get a little limited on that unfortunately.

Not mine, just taking them for a spin. They belong to Hasbro.

Read, review, you know the drill my lovelies!

Storm Shadow stayed with Snake Eyes the entire 2 hour flight to the nearest citadel. Snake Eyes thankfully remained unconscious the entire time. Storm Shadow was certain the man would have been howling in pain if he still had his voice. Chances are something that low in one's body was serious, and to stop a ninja dead in his tracks- a ninja that had been trained in almost every martial arts form known, taken more injuries per day than breaks, and recovered from those injuries by sheer will power until they were bandaged later by a friend- this aliment wasn't' going to relent on its own. Heh… usually Snake Eyes would end up bandaging Storm Shadow… and then Storm Shadow would bandage Snake Eyes… he couldn't help but remember those strong hands wrapping his arm after a sword nicked him during sparring almost every other week. They shared a room at the island temple after all…. Snake Eyes was the one to look after him when he got a cold, and stayed beside him all night with a bowl of water and a wash cloth in case something happened. When Tommy awoke from that feverish night, Snakes was right there, holding his head in his lap with his right hand over the now white clad man's forehead. In all honesty he didn't know what to make of that night. It was rather foreign to him to receive any kind of comfort back then, especially from his clan members.

As the transport landed, Storm Shadow jumped out and took the end of the gurney in his right hand, then pulled with his left to bring Snake Eyes out of the transport. Storm Shadow saw the medics coming towards him and called out to them. They probably didn't expect anyone to come in this early in the day, after all it was about noontime and the normal injuries from their forces were taken around nightfall and usually didn't ease in the flow of shot, stabbed, electrified, knocked out, or burned men until the breakfast bell rang. Then the majority of them got to sleep throughout the day while the 'graveyard' shift took up the 8 am to 8 pm shift.

"Get him into the doctors now! He had a strong pain in his lower right side. I think it's serious." Storm Shadow said as they wheeled Snake Eyes unconscious body into the medical wing. Storm Shadow could only watch as his sword brother was taken away…

Right now things looked… frightening. Snake Eyes wouldn't have collapsed from a small injury. And if he lost his brother, Storm Shadow wouldn't settle for another sparring partner. No one could replace Snake Eyes in his mind… after all; he was the only one that could give the white clad man a run for his money in the battlefield. If Snake Eyes died on the operating table, there would be no force holding him back from releasing all his rage on the first thing he saw… then tending to Timber. He knew of the wolf's name from a journal entry he'd hacked a while back on Snake Eye's computer, and if he lost Snake Eyes, at least he'd have his favorite pet wolf to befriend. It wouldn't be the same, but it'd be better than nothing. And he'd always wanted an exotic pet. So why not a trainable canine?

He knew of all black clad ninja's hopes, dreams, desires… fears. He was surprised once or twice by some of the things he read on the slightly younger man's journal, even though he was only looking for anything that might have given Cobra a foothold on the Joes operation. Like the fact that General Hawk had feelings for Duke, and the Duke had once had a one night stand with the General which led to both of them falling asleep drunk and shirtless on the couch in the General's quarters. Duke had trusted the ninja with that knowledge in hope that it would never get out… too bad he didn't think about Storm Shadow hacking his personal diaries. Then again, Storm Shadow never actually talked to Duke that much these days… or ever before. They just never came into that much contact regarding each other.

The next thing was that the black clad ninja had a rather large dislike of spiders, but a greater fear of being alone… which had slowly dissipated over the long years of being unable to talk… thanks to Zartan's sniper abilities. But in all fairness, Snake Eyes should have stayed out of Cobra's business… even if it took Hard Master away.

Another thing was that Snake Eyes liked chocolate, pizza, hamburgers, and chocolate cake when he was upset. However, when he was happy, he enjoyed vegetables, fruits and strawberry cake, as well as the occasional glass of white wine after a hard mission, not that the military didn't mind paying for a few cases of varying wines to be sent to their favorite ninja as payment for 'silence'. Mostly Dominus and St Julien, but an occasional Caymus or Ravenwood made their way to Snake Eyes quarters. His prize possession was a 1965 Dominus Nebechenezzer.

He wanted kids someday… yet held no feelings for Scarlett. This fact alone shook Storm Shadow. Storm Shadow only knew of that woman from when she had shot him once or twice in battle. All those gunshot injuries had been healed by nanomite technology, from Destro's previous research. Last he heard Scarlett was with Duke for the time being. Heh… Storm Shadow chuckled at the idea of Scarlett in a maids outfit, cleaning Cobra Commanders desk and wardrobe. She's going to be so mad when Cobra Commander brings out the French maid outfit when he wants to mix things up with Duke.

He always loved animals, but held a special place in his heart for Timber. And he never liked goldfish because they were very easy to get, and seemed to hold no real emotion.

He liked to nap in the sunlight of long afternoons with deep orange sunsets or daydream in the early morning hours when the sky was just blue enough for light, but not enough for the sun to come out yet, and enjoyed quiet nights playing in the forest when everyone else was asleep so no one cold bother him while he was lost in his own thoughts.

Storm Shadow started to walk towards the medic wing slowly… he wasn't so sure he wanted to see his sword brother undergoing surgery… then again, perhaps part of him long thought dead wanted to be there for the younger man when he was facing a possible death on the operating table. Storm Shadow feared that thought, but as he approached the open operating room table, he saw that they were removing the younger man's clothing… including his full mask. The medics had pulled it off to force the standard operating equipment where it needed to go, but had not respected a ninja's privacy. The silver visor that normally adorned the steely blue eyes had been removed, but the younger man's eyes remained closed. Storm Shadow was relieved at that, they wouldn't have to put him under stronger meds to keep the martial artist sedated. Storm Shadow supposed that the younger man's body was so tired; he needed any rest that he could get -even chemically induced slumber.

Being on the run for so long from the Cobra forces must have taken more of a toll on the younger man. Moving from cave to cave in the high Rockies must have meant that the younger man battled temperatures around 20 degrees every night… with little more than a few blankets and a fire going if the reports served correctly. Other than that he had a small hand held radio, a few boxes of matches, and his weaponry maintenance equipment. Storm Shadow saw that the radio was set to the private Cobra frequency… that's how Snake Eyes had been avoiding him for so long; he'd been clued into their position all along. No wonder his troops had only found a few scraps of evidence that someone had recently inhabited the caves they searched. Snake Eyes was always a step ahead of them… well, did one seriously expect any less from his sword brother? They'd been taught well at the Arashikage island temple… but no amount of training could help his brother through surgery.

Storm Shadow sat at the open window in a small standard medical hall chair and watched as the medics made the first incision into the younger man's abdomen. He saw very little blood emerge from the 2 inch cut as they inserted a moderately sized endoscopic rod. The medics began inserting tools into the proper holes in the instrument, moving accurately with well practiced hands as they started the procedure. He could barely hear the hushed chatter inside the room as he watched intently.

The first implement was the camera, which was already hooked up to the screen that allowed the medics to see inside the person while they were doing the surgery.

The next was the cutting tools, inserted into a different hole in the instrument than the camera. They were so tiny, Storm Shadow thought they were just wires at first, but realized the tiny clip on the end was likely to be a cauterizing tool by the way it was shaped.

After that, the removal tools went in. Storm Shadow could barely see what was going on, but he knew that the medics were almost finished when their shoulders relaxed and they started to slow down in their hasty movements.

Suddenly, he saw them remove something particularly larger and more organically shaped than their medical tools. It looked like a big blob of blood at first, but immediately after its removal, Storm Shadow saw all of the cutting tools coming out of the instrument. They were beginning to cauterize the inside of the incision… and they started to take out all the remaining implements, stitching the wound closed after removing the endoscopic rod.

Storm Shadow watched as they began to unclip and remove all the surgical medication bags that were empty, covering the nude upper torso of his sword brother with a white blanket. The medics moved towards the young man's face. It had healed since the last time Storm Shadow saw the injuries the young man had sustained in the helicopter crash. He felt uneasy allowing them to remove a ninja's mask, dishonoring him in most scenarios… but then again, in the back of his mind, perhaps steered by his heart; he knew that Snake Eyes wanted to have those scars healed and move on with his life rather than seeing them every time he looked in the mirror. It was no secret that the scars bothered him, otherwise he wouldn't keep them covered so much. And if the medics saw them, chances are that they could do something to make them better, if not heal them entirely… and he'd have his confidant sword brother back.

But the medics were rushing to get him out of surgery quickly and into the recovery room where it was quieter…and away from a certain white clad ninja's prying eyes.

Storm Shadow watched as they wheeled Snake Eyes away on the gurney, then started walking towards the communications room. He had to speak with the hissing moron before he could call it a night…

Cobra Commander was probably the sanest mad genius he had ever known. Unfortunately, even through moments of hesitance, the buffoon managed to make great plans…executing them with his staff at different emotional mountains was another thing all together. The fact that he still held Duke in his grasp was an interesting development. The masked Commander had shown over the recent conversations that he was hesitant to leave Duke anywhere that he couldn't see him… even in the bathtub. Given that the crazed man had a rather large one installed for the two of them to relax together (against Duke's current will… Storm Shadow doubted that even the strongest willed man would have been able to withstand the masked man's advances at the rate he was trying to woo Duke…) while watching television about either the latest conquest or the most recent news, or even a funny game show. And yes, thankfully they'd remembered to cover themselves with towels when the video conference was on. Not that Tommy hadn't had the 'pleasure' of seeing not only Cobra Commander running around the base naked after a party, but also Zartan and Destro following suit out of a drunken dare placed on them by the troops. Said troops later admitted that seeing their …equipment… had made them respect the men that much more… ok, it was a lie, but no one wanted to die from a drunken dare. Especially at Zartan's hands. He was known for his torture methods more than anything else.

Tommy arrived at the communications room as his thoughts stopped. He entered the quiet room and took a seat at the main panel, punching in Cobra Commander's private code. It was only a few seconds before the man appeared at his desk… though what he was doing there at this time of night, Tommy could only guess.

"Commander, I've caught Snake Eyes. He's currently in surgical recovery for a minor aliment." The white clad ninja said. Cobra Commander looked at the screen wearily, then sat back and chuckled.

"Excellent, now we only have those last two to deal with. I've already sent the Baroness to speak with… what was his name… the young ninja boy?" The Commander said, holding his chin inquisitively as he tried to decipher Kamakura's name.

"Kamakura sir. He's one of Snake Eyes students. The others were captured when we took the Pit." The Arashikage ninja explained. Cobra Commander laughed whole heartedly.

"Excellent! One of my most favorite memories!" The blue clad man said. Storm Shadow looked at him in confusion, he had one question that needed an answer from the Commander.

"Sir… isn't it a bit late for you to be working?" He asked, testing the ice to make sure he didn't get into Cobra Commander's bad graces. Cobra Commander threw his head back and grabbed his mask in exhaustion.

"Duke wanted to be alone for a few minutes… so I came in here to work…and I can't even focus long enough to write a damn document. I thought that taking over the world would be glorious when we started out… but after meeting him, and seeing that he's not impressed by my power now… it changes everything. Storm Shadow… what is the secret to a man like that's heart?" Cobra Commander was clearly drunk. And a drunk Cobra Commander was a spontaneous Cobra Commander. Storm Shadow sighed.

"Look, Cobra Commander, I do not know what Duke likes. But if I had to guess, if he hasn't responded to power and 'glorious' proclamations, try listening to him. Maybe you are missing something big." Storm Shadow said calmly. He was never one for romantic crap… no… not one for romance. Not. Not.

Cobra Commander sat up and looked at him, then placed his hand on his chin again.

"You really think so?" He asked, acting like a child that had never heard the term before. Storm Shadow sighed.

"Yes… now about Snake Eyes-"

"You keep him. If he's not causing us trouble, you can play with him. You seem to blast through every other sparring partner I give you, and I'm tired of replacing the soldiers you take out. I take it you'll be happier with someone from your own clan…" The blue clad man hissed as he turned off his working computer and turned back to Tommy.

"Though I must admit too *hic*, with an ass like that I wouldn't bother sparring…" The Commander said as he signed off, leaving an infuriated Storm Shadow to growl after him.

"He's NOT my lover!" The white clad man yelled at the blank screen as he stormed out of the communications room and stomped his way back to his sword brother's recovery room. The lights were out when he got there, but the monitors were stable and the doctors weren't around. He entered quietly, deciding it wouldn't feel right to at least not say goodnight to his sword brother while he was so close by and so easy to access. After all, it'd been a hard habit to break when they went separate ways, after so many years of saying goodnight to someone so close.

As he approached the bed, he took note of the small amount of equipment attached to Snake Eyes. Only the breathing apparatus, the IV, and a few monitoring wires were attached to the younger man's body. Snake Eyes looked so peaceful in his rest…

"Rest well brother… I will see you in the morning." The white clad ninja said as he pulled the younger man's black sheathed sword off his own back and placed it in the chair beside the bed. Storm Shadow grabbed the younger man's clothes and took them with him to be cleaned. After all, one shouldn't have to wear dirty clothes while one is recovering from surgery. And Storm Shadow was certain that the younger man hadn't had time to wash his outfit while on the run from his troops.

As the white clad man left the room, he let his thoughts wander to the blue clad commander… was he correct? Was the fact that Storm Shadow had no eyes for women because he was attracted to Snake Eyes instead? He never bothered with women, or frankly anyone, before and whenever he had 'romantic urges', he usually just went to training and they disappeared after a few runs of his normal training routines. He rarely ever saw a woman naked, and even when he did it was in some priceless artwork or accidentally stumbling across it while watching television. He was never into porn that much, and trying to force himself to get aroused when he was stressed never cut it. He always ended up getting dressed and practicing with one of his sword instead. Something about those twins swords on his back man him relax… whether it be their presence on his back when he was mad, or just keeping a hand on them while he slept, they made him find peace at night, and rest somewhat better than without them.

As Storm Shadow came into his temporary quarters at this citadel, he threw his swords and his clothing onto the bed and went to take a cool shower.

He tried to stop his awkward thoughts. They were not his…. They were NOT his…

His restless mind kept wandering to Snake Eyes in the hospital bed… and for the first time since he was young, Storm Shadow was conflicted over Snake Eyes.

Not wanting to think such thoughts, he turned the water icy cold for three minutes and climbed out of the spray.

As he climbed into bed, the thoughts came back… and he found himself grabbing his swords… as they were the only thing that could calm him…

Sleep did not come easy to Storm Shadow that night.

REVIEW PLEASE! And thank you to all my lovely reviewers from before.


	3. Morning Moccasin

More Snakes/Storm, lots of humor, and more like brothers for now. I have an idea, but I might diverge the story into two parts and post it under different titles. Cuz now I have another idea that goes more with the storyline. IDK. Review and you get a free drawing request! I mean it! super secret surprise character! Thanks to all my watchers and reviewers so far!

For Fanfiction: On deviant art I'm AuroraBluewolf.

For Deviant Art: On Fanfiction I'm also AuroraBluewolf. Watch me on both please! And if you give me a llama, I'll give you a llama!

They aren't mine, if they were, every real guy on the face of the world would drown in tears of sorrow.

Review please!

Minor Note: This goes back up to Mature rating next chapter.

Update: Thank you Linuxgirl ! I had concerns about that part, and I'm glad you pointed it out! Changed it to fit their personalities better cuz it was driving me nuts! Now Zartan is just tolerated~ and Storms still looks awesome! (and to any readers, if you find errors and pointhtem out, i'll fix them about you get these!) A free request on Deviant art and/or Fanfiction and 12 cybercookies!

Caught by a Cobra

Chapter 3

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Storm Shadow awoke the next morning with a blinding headache. He couldn't tell what the blasted reason was for him having a headache either. He didn't drink anything last night… so it wasn't a hangover. And he didn't fight anyone to his memory…his head was throbbing against his skull, mimicking the blaring techno music of a night club minus the temptation of young people rubbing bodies drenched with sweat together.

Tommy managed to haul himself out of bed, noting that the standard issue clock read 5 am… he'd only slept for 6 hours… yet the way his body felt, it might have been better to just stay awake and meditate instead. He must have tossed and turned for at least 3 of those hours, and rolled over on his swords twice. Not to mention the three times he felt his stars slip from his clothing pockets and onto the bed, where they gouged him once or twice, but didn't even break the skin.

The partly dressed man climbed out of the standard issue, back ruining bed and forced his sore aching body into the showers. The warm spray of the water hit his aching spinal column, forcing his muscles to relax as the water calmed his body. He couldn't stop thinking about the younger man and the events of the previous evening. He looked so..vulnerable… why hadn't Storm Shadow killed him then? He just… couldn't. Something about the way Snake Eyes was right then… it looked so peaceful and serene… helpless from an older stand point, but defenseless… and pure.

Storm Shadow pulled himself out of the shower and toweled off quickly, redressing in his standard white uniform. As he was leaving the room, he saw Snake Eyes' dirty outfit still resting on the bed lower than where he'd slept last night. He must have placed it there and forgot about getting it to the wash. The white clad man gathered the uniform up and took it with him, handing the sweaty, blood and dirt stained pieces of cloth to a random soldier.

"Get them cleaned and have them taken to Recovery Room B when they are done." The ninja told the younger man. With an abrupt salute, the younger man took off for the laundry room and Storm Shadow started his path to the cafeteria to grab something sweet. When Storm Shadow had not slept well, he always craved sweets to at least make him perky enough not to ram his tempered steel through some unsuspecting lackey when they wished him a good morning. They did little for his sore aching back or his pounding headache… but at least he had sugar. Today he craved sweet, sugary, diet shattering, glazed junk food for breakfast. And something strong and chocolaty… a good dose of hot chocolate. He never had much of a taste for coffee, too bitter for him, and he hated actually adding sugar and cream to his drink. It seemed so tedious, when he could just have hot chocolate instead and save himself the hassle.

As he arrived in the uninhabited room, he walked straight to the line and grabbed a tray. He saw that they actually had a decent looking spread this time. Pancakes, bacon, sausage, ham, fruit, eggs, toast, grits, waffles, gravy, oatmeal, cereal, French toast, hash browns, and pastries… good god, were they trying to make him fat? Though when he first came to the US, he learned very quickly that sausage gravy was NOT oatmeal. No matter how close they looked alike.

Storm Shadows stomach expressed its dislike of any choice less than pancakes and sausage, to which the white clad ninja relented and started grabbing what he wanted. Three pancakes, two sausage links, two spoonfuls of eggs, and a donut later, he grabbed his cup of hot chocolate and sat down at a table in the lonely lunch room with a nice view of the forest through the windows, pulling off his mask with ease and starting to ravenously consume his unsuspecting protein filled breakfast. The television was on the news, something about more kittens being fostered by some motherly canine. He thought it was cute, but didn't notice the dark clad figure sitting beside him.

"Sweet little fluff balls aren't they? Never could kill a kitten, they are too sweet to kill. Or any animal for that matter… 'cept fish." A deep Australian accent commented. Storm Shadow turned and smiled at his new breakfast visitor.

"Hello Zartan, what brings you to this fair side of the world? I thought you'd be going hunting on one of your many territories." The white clad man said, setting his cup down as he looked at the dark haired man. Zartan chuckled. Storm Shadow had never really had patience for Zartan, but the need for social contact right now outweighed his normal wariness of the man. So enjoying breakfast while listening to a psychotic murderer was unusual... beggars can't be choosers. "The game's good there, but I was in the area and didn't want to return to my harpy sister while she's on the rag. She's scarier when she gets like that, and I'd rather not get shot again for a few days. My ass would thank her for a day or two to heal." He said, motioning to his bandaged rear.

"Now what did you do to deserve to be shot there?" The white clad ninja chuckled, knowing that it was Zartan's arrogant attitude that got him shot in the first place, but he probably didn't give her something she wanted and got a Gatling gun to the rear for his smug comments. Not that Storm Shadow hadn't thought about shoving a sword where the sun didn't shine for his remarks once or twice, mostly about how Snake Eyes would adorn his bed more than his training grounds when they won.

Given that it was no secret that Snake Eyes had a very nice body, but to Storm Shadow, he was still his sword brother. They didn't respect the fact that Snake Eyes had his right to choose whoever he wanted to be with, and beyond that Storm Shadow was certain he was straight. He'd never seen anything about Snake Eyes being interested in men in any of his journals before raids.

The white clad man continued to listen to his temporary companion tell him about the wilds of Africa, South America and Australia; going into detail about the wildlife there and the fact that after all his years as a mercenary, he just didn't find happiness in killing animals. After the hunt for some of the most challenging and intellectually manipulative creatures on the planet, the chase for a lesser was so… caged. It was like shooting fish in a barrel, and for a hunter, that's not hunting. It's baiting at best.

So Zartan, the most sadistic son of a bitch mercenary of Cobra that ever breathed , took up fishing.

"Chances are one of these days I'm gonna catch a Great White! After that the sky is the limit." The ruthless man said as he got excited about the idea of catching bigger and bigger fish in territories that he himself couldn't just infiltrate and wrestle his prey to the ground. Storm Shadow noticed that other 'employees' were filtering in about this time. Storm Shadow realized the medical wing would be almost empty of prying ears about now when all the medics went to bed and the 'skeleton crew' took over the day shift.

"Well Storms, it's been great chattin', but I have to head out here in a few minutes. Good luck with Snakes, I hope he gives you a better challenge than I did in the sparrin' arena. Can still hear my head collidin' with that wall. Heard he's laid up good with a stomach issue. You have anything to do with that?" The dark haired man asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow to the white clad man's well hidden fury. He didn't want to scare off what he considered a friend in this organization. Then again, in this organization, anyone who talked to you once and stayed alive for more than twenty minutes was a friend.

"No, I found him like that in the woods. And like you, it's not a fitting challenge to take out your opponent because they are injured by another, or an ailment. So I brought him back here… was hoping to talk some sense into him… if he'll allow me. But he's always been stubborn. Not like Duke stubborn, but hard headed about where he will go in his life. I fear I might actually have to hunt him down in the forest again and cage him until he relents…I'd hate to waste that kind of time these days. Too much to do to be playing Hunt." The white clad man said. Zartan sat up and chuckled.

"True, rumor has it that Duke nailed Commander in the jewels the other night. Apparently he wasn't too happy with Commander trying to grope him while they were drinking. I hope the boss knows what he's doin' here. Duke's strong, but Snakes is at least easier to talk to. Doesn't shoot ya if you ask the wrong question." Zartan said as he took a drink from his milk. He had a four hour flight back and he wanted to sleep on it, so milk would make him rest easier.

"True…" The white clad man whispered through a bite of eggs. Zartan decided, with 5 minutes to go before he had to go towards the runways, to pop the big question he wanted to know.

"So… what do you want with Snakes?" He asked, slightly fearing that he'd get a fork jammed in his arm just for asking. Storm Shadow sat up and looked him in the eyes, seriously.

"I… do not know what I want. I cannot say what I feel I should do. Snake Eyes… means a lot to me… as a brother… but when I saw him last night, out cold and barely breathing for himself… it just… hit me, that we aren't mountains… and that maybe it's time to leave the fighting behind. I'm not sure where that will go. But I know I want Snake Eyes involved. He's my most trusted friend since we were kids, and going forward without him seems… isolated for me. And now that the fighting is over… perhaps I should look at settling down. I… I don't know. But I'm keeping Snake Eyes where I know I can find him. Commander would have him probably killed for otherwise." The white clad man said, sternly stating the idea. Zartan chuckled glancing at the younger man.

"Can't help but notice… you didn't mention a woman there… might Mindbender have something in mind for Snakes too?" Zartan actually feared Mindbender, mostly because he was insane. But his technology was far beyond the majority of the worlds… and he had been doing some rather… different experiments. Basic repairs were one thing… but organ formation was another realm on its own. Storm Shadow sat up and stared at him.

"No… I'm not letting that madman touch Snakes Eyes unless there is no other option. He… he might mess with Snake Eyes body… and after that, things could get messy. I saw what he did to those new recruits. I know he got most of them back to normal, but what about the last two?" The white clad man asked, to which Zartan replied.

"Rumor has it he messed with their DNA. They had a fit 'bout it until the other men started saying something. After that I haven't heard a peep. Then again… with Mindbender, chances are it was a blessing in disguise. He always had a knack for making people want to kill 'em, then redeeming himself when they found the abilities. " Zartan whispered. "Anyways, I have to take off. Catch you later Stormy." Zartan said as he walked away, whistling. Storm Shadow watched him as he left, wanting to forget what he'd just heard, and the rather quaint nickname from Zartan ringing in his ears.

The white clad man gathered his empty tray and cup and tossed them as he left the cafeteria and headed towards the medical wing, replacing his mask as soon as he was out of the cafeteria. Which was good too, because as he was leaving, he saw a hoard of mixed employees from various levels of the building, including the medical wing, coming towards the room he'd just enjoyed breakfast in. That would mean that Snake Eyes would be in a relatively quiet area with no one around. Normally that would mean that his target would get a quick, quiet end that would be found hours, or maybe even days later; but this occasion told the white clad ninja that he could hopefully talk to a somewhat conscious Snake Eyes alone. Not that he thought the medical staff would blab to anyone, but he never liked the idea of people eavesdropping.

As he turned the corner to the medical wing, he saw the open door to the younger man's recovery room was opened and the lights were on. He approached cautiously, wondering if there were still doctors in the room checking on him.

He kept his footfalls silent as he entered the room, noting that Snake Eyes was sitting up a little and seemed to be alert. Chances were that the younger man was still on painkillers and wasn't too hypersensitive to his environment as he was on a daily basis as a trained ninja. Storm Shadow walked over quietly and slowly, doing his best not to startle the younger man.

"Snakes?" He said, barely whispering the other's name above the beeping monitors and hushed sounds of the base clamoring around at this hour. Snake Eyes turned his head slowly, looking at Storm Shadow, who now saw that the younger man had his trademark ebony lacquered swords resting in his hands. His blue eyes were bathed in drug induced fog, looking as though he was going to fall asleep if allowed to.

"Snake Eyes. How are you feeling?" The white clad man asked tentatively, not wanting to make the younger man feel enclosed by his presence in the room. Snake Eyes smiled lightly and gave Storm Shadow a 'thumbs up', followed by a half hearted 'so-so' hand gesture. Storm Shadow smiled back at his brother and took a seat beside the bed and placing his own swords down beside him.

"So, how have you been?" The white clad man said, testing the waters gently as he spoke to the younger man. Snake Eyes smiled at him and gesticulated a few signs, all basically positive. He then looked at Storm Shadow and placed his hands on his heads, indicating dogs ears.

"Timber is safe, he's down in the kennels right now and they are checking him for any ailments or minor conditions, as well as updating him on all his shots. From what I received earlier, he's doing fine and only had a few fleas, which was normal for wild wolves." The white clad man responded, only checking his text messages then in the shadow of the bed to verify anything he said.

"You know, an Appendectomy is a minor procedure, but alone out there… I was certain I was going to lose you for a few moments. I had no idea what was hurting and I have to admit, living without you is like being stuck in Purgatory with only clowns to amuse you." The Arashikage heir said, smirking as Snake Eyes laughed as best as he could. He was still under a lot of meds, but it was good to see that even now, they could laugh at each other with the whole heartedness of young boys. It felt so refreshing, like a bath in the purest spring water on earth, just to hear the voice of the other.

Tommy had always felt like the geek in the Geek get's the Girl song when he talked to others after screwing something up, but right now he was just happy to chat with his brother. It was like no one in the world could touch them right now, and if they tried, he'd probably kill them just for speaking.

Snake Eyes gesticulated to his sword and then to his chest. Storm Shadow laughed.

"Well I didn't want you to wear dirty clothes, so I had them washed. After all, months of vacationing with a dog that loves to bring back dead animals had given your clothes a rather unique smell. Somewhere between 'rotting carcass' and 'sweat of ape man'. You might have had to walk out of the recovery rooms naked while the entire base gawked at your body, and then I'd have to start looking for new recruits after I killed them for staring at you. And that's time consuming." Storm Shadow said, smiling the entire time as his sword brother chuckled, agreeing with the white clad man. He gesticulated that his injury was nothing to be gawked at, but a badge of honor as Hard Master used to say.

"Well, you are correct there brother! He always thought the more scars you had the better! Too bad he didn't keep some of them covered in the hot springs. I'll never get the image out of my head." The white clad man said as he grabbed his head, trying to look sickened. Snake Eyes laughed hard, doing his best no to throw up or start coughing.

After about three minutes of laughing together, Snake Eyes sobered up and looked at Storm Shadown, motioning a 'what's going to happen now'. Storm Shadow looked at his hands and then to Snake Eyes.

"I was hoping that when you were completely healed, we could talk a little about that. Unless you'd like to hear what I have to say now?" The white clad man said gently. Snake Eyes motioned to him 'well I'm not going anywhere, speak'. Storm Shadow smiled lightly and readjusted himself on the seat.

"It's no secret that the Joes have all been either captured or agreed to stay out of Cobra's way. I take it you were knowledgeable about that a while ago." Storm Shadow said as he received a raised eyebrow from the mask less Snake Eyes. "We found your stuff. It's all here in my temporary quarters. I'm staying here with you until you are well enough to be moved. After that I'm taking you somewhere more peaceful to recover for the remainder of your healing. But Snake Eyes… I was hoping you'd join me in the new seat of power in the Arashikage empire. Cobra Commander gave me all of Asia… and I want you by my side to rule it fairly. You were always wise, and… you are my better half. Please consider it Snake Eyes, living on the run isn't fun after so long… I know you are tired of the fighting. I am too… and I'm lost now. What do you say?" The white clad man stated. Snake Eyes looked at him, frozen.

The recovering man thought it over for a few minutes, looking between his lap and Storm Shadow's bowed head. Then he took Storm Shadow's hand in his, grabbing the other's attention.

'I will join you on one condition.' The recovering man gesticulated. Strom Shadow nodded.

'When I am better, you have to fight me. You win, I go with you. I win, I get to call the shots on the prize.' Snake Eyes gesticulated, mostly pointing to his open palmed hand and between them. Storm Shadow smiled at his old friend.

"Well, I like that arrangement." He said as he held out a hand to his sword brother, who shook it with a friendly smile. Snake Eyes started to feel sleepy as the meds kicked back in, so he gripped Storm Shadow's hand gently and laid back down. Storm Shadow understood what this meant and spoke to his brother as he dozed off about how well his friends had been doing, which seemed to ease his thoughts as the white clad man spoke to his old friend. After about two minutes of talking, Storm Shadow felt the tense muscles that held his hand failing as the younger man fell asleep. With that, he covered his old friend with the heavy blankets around him, and turned off the main light as he stepped out of the room and shut the door quietly.

Time to go run some drills, and waste time until he was certain that his sword brother would be awake.

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And on the next episode, I'm skipping ahead so you guys don't have to listen to 'they did routine stuff over and over until Snakes was better', cuz that's boring and I'd lose readers which would suck.

Review please!

It makes me write faster!


	4. Afternoon Adder

Caught by a Cobra

Chapter 4

Well here's the fourth chapter... I"m a little down about going back to school... time to go back to a name and a number, no real personality... at least in my opinion. But i get to go back to my other bio students, so maybe i can find some nice new friends there. let's hope so...

Comment please! I really need the pick me up right now. Just getting the blues.

I make no money off of this. Hasbro does. jerks.

* * *

Weeks had passed and Storm Shadow exited his temporary room today with zealous steps. Today was the day he got to take Snake Eyes home. It was a nine hour flight back to Japan, but it was well worth it to take Snake Eyes to their home. After all, where better to finish their long battle than where it first began?

As the white clad man made his way to the medical recovery area, he passed the recovery room that Snake Eyes had been harbored in for the first two days, after that they moved the younger man to a private room where Storm Shadow had spent his time comforting his old friend as he rested in the warmth of the citadel's medical wing. Snake Eyes only spoke in gesticulations, so it was different to finally talk to his sword brother after all these years of only speaking through sword slashes and bitter tongues engaged in a battle of nothing but spite.

As Storm Shadow entered the room with his brother in it, he saw the medics had already unfastened all the equipment from the other man and Snake Eyes was redressing in his typical black military issued battle uniform. The younger man smiled as got up and took his mask in one hand and his swords in the other.

"Ready brother?" Storm Shadow asked, happy to finally get out of this daily routine place. Snake Eyes smiled and followed Storm Shadow out the door and to the run way, each step mimicking the other's in perfect tandem, neither too fast or too slow for the other, matching in pitch and timing.

Snake Eyes only replaced his mask when they arrived at the run way, where the other people could see him. He didn't want to have them stare at him; it was his business and no one else's. That, and whenever he had his mask off, everyone wanted to stare at the always covered ninja like he was the Holy Grail on display. He hated that kind of attention.

Storm Shadow sensed insecurity in his comrade and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He didn't like it when his sword brother was fearful on any note, and tensing up was just his way of being afraid, he never wore his emotions on his sleeves like the rest of the world's population. Storm Shadow knew that the worry came from the stares he would get if he didn't wear his mask. Given that a lot of ninjas got various scars over the years from swords, kunais and other sharp implements, Snake Eyes scars were from the helicopter crash, and he never really liked the way they looked. He had been really handsome prior to the crash, and the Arashikage girls swooned over him because he was so calm and gentle with the smaller creatures that dwelled around the training grounds. So when the crash had taken that away, Snake Eyes thought the medics could take care of it… six years later and numerous plastic surgeries had proven otherwise. They had managed to reconstruct his facial appearance, but the scars on his skin remained. Storm Shadow had hoped that he could ask Mindbender to program some nanomites to repair the damaged skin and restore all the scars that were bothering the younger man, but he wasn't going to until he knew Snake Eyes was going to stay in one place under watchful eyes for more than a few weeks. And doing that while he was healing from the appendix surgery was going to tax the younger man's systems too much. It was only a thought, and he wanted to mention it if he won the battle against the younger man, but Snake Eyes had always given him a run for his money.

As they boarded the plane, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow sat near the empty seats in the back of the plane, which had a pull down cot to the side if anyone needed it. Thankfully this part of the plane could be sealed off from the rest of the passengers. That way, he and Snake Eyes could talk without being disturbed, or rest without anyone entering their privacy until they stopped. He noted that Timber was being placed into the kennel area at the top portion of the plane. Good, because a canine that strong would do a lot of damage if he was unhappy, at least the cage would hold him.

As the plane took off, Storm Shadow closed the door to the room and sat down besides Snake Eyes on the cot. Unfortunately, Snake Eyes still got tired easily from the antibiotics he was required to take. He could barely go for an hour without having to stop and lay down or at least sit. Since this was going to be a nine hour flight, he decided to take the padded cot instead of a chair. Storm Shadow noticed exactly how big the cot was, it could easily fit two people.

_NO. No…don't go there… he's your sword brother for goodness sakes…_Storm Shadow's mind spat venomously. Years of being told that no matter what, he was a warrior first and everything else second, had forbidden him from even tampering with the thoughts of romance was considered foolish and distracting from one's mission. Even though the Arashikage clan had never had a problem with their boys attaining some minor forms of love and longing among them, mostly due to the serious lack of females training with them while they were on the clan's private island, it rarely ever seceded past the island. Time and distance away from their lovers made old bonds grow weak and eventually reside into friendship and nothing more. But Storm Shadow had never put those feelings aside… but then again, even when exposed to females, he felt no longing for them; mind, body or soul. Snake Eyes was the only one he wanted to be near… he was the only one that ever made any real sense to the Arashikage heir.

Snake Eyes shifted as the plane picked up speed and turned on his side, indicating that he was falling asleep quickly. Storm Shadow grabbed a blanket from the racks above the cot and covered his sword brother with it as he sat down in his own seat. He watched the slow rise and fall of the other ninja's chest rise and fall as he took slow, deep breathes. Storm Shadow had forgotten how long it had been since they'd both been able to sleep soundly at night, not having to keep one eye open in case a rival clan or assassin decided to get cleaver while they slept.

Storm Shadow decided to let his brother rest until he felt like waking. No rush after all, they had eight hours left. So Storm Shadow decided to clean his swords while he waited. He reached into his pocket for a cleaning cloth and was stopped by a sudden movement from his sword brother. Snake Eyes reached for Storm Shadow's arm as he twisted around, placing his covered hand on the other man's arm and pulling him towards the cot. Storm Shadow didn't understand at first.

-Talk to me…- he gesticulated, Snake Eyes never really bothered with Sign language. After all, most of his friends were Americans and he was Japanese born. He only came to the US after the death of Hard Master. And that was only four years ago… strange to think so little time had passed yet it seemed like longer…

"Sure. Anything particular you'd like to hear about brother?" Storm Shadow asked. Snake Eyes smiled under his mask and pulled the other man onto the bed in a sitting position, laying his head on his lap like a pillow.

"Ah, you wanted a pillow that wasn't going to move huh?" The white clad man said, gently placing his sword in the rack behind them, then sliding the sheathed metal blade from Snake Eyes hands and placing it with his white lacquered weaponry. Snake Eyes turned over and wrapped himself in the blankets as he looked at Storm Shadow and gesticulated –where's Timber?-.

Storm Shadow chuckled. Snake Eyes was always concerned about his friends.

"He's up at the front of the plane, in the kennels. I wasn't sure if he would be comfortable being able to roam around a moving plane. He is a canine, and I was certain he'd be uncomfortable without tranquilizers to keep him calm." Storm Shadow said as he rested a hand on Snake Eyes head just because of its position on his leg. Snake Eyes relaxed until the plane hit some turbulence. Storm Shadow grabbed the racks above him, trying his best to keep himself on the seat as the plane turned quickly and assorted boxes started to slide towards the other side of the plane. Snake Eyes held onto his sword brother's waist as an attempt to get stable as the lower half of his body slid off the cot and twisted around, aggravating his surgical incisions that were almost completely healed. The slightly younger man gripped harder onto his sword brother as his injury stung. Storm Shadow waited until the plane stabilized and quickly picked up his sword brother's lower half, gently replacing him on the cot.

The white clad man gripped the younger man's shirt and pulled it up to look at the incision, making sure that it wasn't bleeding or torn. It seemed to be ok, a drop of blood had escaped, but nothing more. Storm Shadow grabbed a cloth from his back pocket and gently pressed it against the bloody spot. Snake Eyes relaxed, feeling his sword brother move back into the position he was in before the plane decided to turn erratically.

"They will have a lot of explaining to do when this trip is over. Are you feeling alright?" Storm Shadow asked. Snake Eyes looked at the slightly older man and gripped his hand lightly, seeking gentle comfort from the other. Storm Shadow smiled and grabbed the blanket that had been disheveled from turn and wrapped his sword brother in it again, gently pulling him into his lap, slightly feeling like he would wake up and Snake Eyes would be dead from the surgery and all of these weeks would have just been a deluded and cruel dream.

Snake Eyes breathed in deeply and calmly, forcing his muscles to relax at the gentle contact. It felt strangely familiar… like a calm wind after years of being underground, locked away from the breezes. It made him feel… clean for the first time in years.

Storm Shadow rested his head and back against the back wall, making himself comfortable. No reason trying to sit up for the remaining seven and a-half hours. Snake Eyes nudged him as he turned over to alleviate pressure from his incision.

-What do you do now?- Snake Eyes asked the white clad man, to which he got a healthy, happy smile.

"Since Cobra now runs the joint, I've basically taken up being Japan's new emperor…as well as the rest of Asia. You'd be surprised how little resistance we met with from the former militant nations. Then again, it basically came down to a threat battle between the US military power controlled by Commander and the USSR, so after that was settled, the rest came silently. I… really have just been hunting down the remainder of the Joes since I was given that territory. No offense, but your friends made it rather easy to find them where a ninja is concerned." Storm Shadow smiled, gently squeezing his sword brother's hand.

"You on the other hand, gave me a fair run. But when I saw you hurting like that in the middle of nowhere, I got scared. You are the only competition I have left. All the rest have either been blown to pieces or just gave up too soon. I… am still hoping that you will join me one way or another… living on the run just seems so… tiring these days. And it almost landed you in an early grave this time. I… don't want that to happen again." Storm Shadow said slowly, awaiting a response from Snake Eyes.

The black clad man gently lifted his hand to his sword brother's and pressed the cold digits to his masked face. Storm Shadow took it as a display of gratitude just for helping, but to Snake Eyes, he honestly thought that given the chance, Storm Shadow would have let him die to eliminate him… or at least back then it seemed like he would have.

Storm Shadow readjusted himself into a more comfortable position, with his back against the wall and both legs on the cot, one positioned up at an angle while the other flagged Snake Eyes left side, both holding the younger man on the cot, assuring him that if the plane turned again, he wouldn't go flying off like the last time.

"You know… when the doctors say you ready to fight again… I was thinking… would you like to have our last battle on the old island?" Storm Shadow asked, it was a nice place after he got the Cobra troops to clean it up a little, even got a girl to restore the place to its former glory. No more weather worn stairways or drooping doors, everything looked exactly like the day he had watched Hard Master killed… to get him out of the way. He had always held them back, treating them like children… and he always managed to keep Snake Eyes occupied…away from him…

Snake Eyes looked up at the other man, slightly sleepy movements indicating that rest wasn't too far off. –I'd like that- he gesticulated, pulling Tommy's hand underneath his head and using it as a small pillow. Storm Shadow smiled.

"Snake Eyes… what did you… what do you think of me now?" The white clad man asked, slightly worried for the answer. He prayed his sword brother didn't completely hate and was just using this temporary peace to get to a point where he could ambush him and over power him. Tommy knew that Snake Eyes was a good man, but right now he had his friends to think of, and chances were even if he defeated Storm Shadow in a battle, he'd have to answer to Cobra Commander… who wouldn't put up with a rogue ninja messing with his empire. If Tommy couldn't vouch for him, Snake Eyes would be killed. The whole situation was rather crazy, but led to the same fact:

He had to defeat Snake Eyes if this was going to end well for anyone.

The black clad man shifted slightly, indicating that he was falling asleep fast, so Tommy decided to keep talking to him to relax him. It seemed to do the trick on all the days that he came to visit him in the recovery room and couldn't sleep prior to the white clad man's visit. After about twenty minutes of babbling to the sleeping man, Tommy himself relented to the peaceful rest of slumber.

His answer could wait… Snake Eyes needed to choose his words, or movements, carefully…

* * *

"Oh come on Duke, let's get you out for a while! You've been cooped up in your room for two days straight now. You can't stay in there forever!" The Commander said, practically scratching at the door as he tried to convince the younger scarred man to come out of his room, which had been dead bolted for two days now whenever Cobra Commander was around.

"No Rex, I'm not coming out until I damn well feel like it. Leave me alone. I don't want to be near you right now…" Duke said, keeping his back to the door, and silently wanting what little conversation was offered to him… even if it was the man who was responsible for ruining everything he'd worked so hard for…

"Duke! Come on, I know you want to come out of there for a while. Why not just relax and we can have fun! Like the old times! You remember the barracks right? You can't tell me that sneaking out and playing tricks on the Corporal wasn't fun!" The blue clad man groaned. That was true… sneaking out with Rex and their friends was a lot of fun… even if it made them tired for battle the next day. And the few times that they did get caught they were forced to do grunt work for the next three days. Which was totally worth it.

"Rex… stop… I… I can't do this…" He said gently, slightly fearing the now insane man's ideas on what might have to be done to control Duke's behavior. And Duke had a feeling that the nanomites had something to do with his plans… mind control wasn't that far off in his demented little world. If he injected Duke with them, he could have free reign over every behavior that was previously the scarred man's choice.

"Duke… look, I'll make a deal with you." The blue clad man said. Duke wanted to run, but something told him to stay. It might be his ticket to freedom.

"Ok… what's the deal?" He asked, part of his heart actually rising to hear a challenge of some sort, which might break his funk of sitting around looking like a house bound pet. He sat up and pressed a hand against the door and nudged it slightly closer to the handle.

"If you come out and give me a day, no chains, no nanomites, no nothing other than you and I, and go on a date with me, I'll let you choose your path afterwards. If you want to leave, I won't stop you, I'll even have a car ready to take you to wherever you want. Deal?" Commander was laying all his cards on the table now, mostly because throughout the last two months he'd watched Duke slowly withering into a very depressed man. A day with him, free and happy as he could be, was all he asked for… and if he chose to leave, that was that. There was nothing he could do… but at least Duke would be happy. And he still had Scarlett to mess with. She was fun to mess with. She actually glared at him when he told an inappropriate joke.

"…Deal…" Finally, after hours of debating, came the answer from the other side, and Commander pulled away from the door with a smile as the darkened wood unlatched with a click and out stepped a sleepy Duke, who clearly was getting ready for bed. He had no shirt on and only his standard issue military pants. Commander almost hugged him, but stopped himself as he held out his hand to the younger man, who gripped it firmly and smiled, silently promising himself that he wouldn't succumb to the other's endeavors.

* * *

~WAH! What a long writing time. Plane scenes are hard to do in a closed space without having something pervy come out. I mean it, it's really hard!

review please! It makes me write faster! And thank you to my reviewers! You've been a huge help!

~ I make no money off of this. The characters belong to Hasbro.~


	5. Venomous Viper

Caught by a Cobra

Chapter 5

Venomous Viper

I LIVE! Ok fewer updates in more time than usual, but I'm a busy busy little bee and I can't afford to waste time.

Also, go check out my transformers fics~ they are funny.

Me no own. Hasbro does. SHARE!

Review please. Also, if you see a mistake, please tell me. I am human and I make mistakes… a lot of mistakes…

EDIT: Thank you Linuxgirl *cybercookie*

updates will be fewer for a while. I'm really juggling things here. Cell bio picked up, human anatomy kicked my butt, and research took my free day away. ...and the parents are still telling me i need a job in between all of this. oh joy... yeah, between the 8 hours of studying a day plus actual classes, and research, i have ot do backflips for this too? *sigh* all i asked was for one day off each week for one semester in my 4 (going on 5) year career here... guess that was too much to ask.

… :D Some of you, not saying who, but I think you know who you are~ get what's happening in the near future. And I guess for clarification more than anything else, Storms can understand Snake Eyes by some really cool sword brother understanding. So… yeah, Snakes knows sign language, but he doesn't use American with Tommy. They probably have Japanese sign language- but … well I can't say the rest for now without giving too much of the story away. So bare with us here please!

* * *

Snake Eyes awoke to the sound of a plane landing. The ride had been so smooth, he could hardly think to get out of the oddly comfortable cot.

'Oh great, and I was having such a nice dream too…' he mentally groaned. He shifted his weight and found Storm Shadow had slid down the cot to act as more of a body pillow than just his leg providing a steady surface for Snake Eyes head. Tommy had even slightly wrapped his left arm around the younger man's torso in his slumber… just like when he had a bad dream when they were training on the island together. Snake Eye would always find the other boy draped over him like a giant stuff animal, yet even back then he wouldn't bother to move the well muscled arm. Looking back, perhaps he was just allowing his subconscious to tell him what his heart knew he wanted… instead of all these years of his head telling him he had to like girls… girls with big _breasts_ and long _red_ hair. Not a flat chested, black haired, gorgeous man that haunted his dreams every night like a specter.

Snake Eyes forced himself to gently place his war worn hand on his sword brother's wrist and move the slumber heavy arm off his torso and sat up. He gently nudged the other man, hating to wake him… he was beautiful in his rest…

'Damn you… why do you taunt me like that…' he thought, wanting to just stay with Storm Shadow for another four hours. But as those darkened blueish black eyes opened and the white clad man sat up, Snake Eyes thoughts quickly changed to getting off the plane and not being noticed by the other man for his stares. He gathered both his and Tommy's blades and handed the sleepy headed man his white lacquered weaponry. The other man sat up and pushed himself off the cot, following his sword brother out the door and down the stairs to the runway.

Snake Eyes lightly noted that Timber was still asleep as he watched the men unloading their things onto another truck, one with security straps for cargo. Storm Shadow pulled the younger man into the black car waiting for them, mentioning that the canine would be fine on his journey.

* * *

After a 50 minute drive through what appeared to be countryside, they arrived at the white clad man's new estate. It was a massive mansion that must have been at least 4 stories tall, and knowing Tommy it had a basement and a cellar hidden in there somewhere. Chances are Cobra had 'happened across' some good vintages in their time and Tommy had some stored in that cellar, temperature controlled and aging to perfection. Snake Eyes couldn't even see how long the mansion was, from side to side or front to back; mostly due to the foliage around it blocking his view. After a few sweeps over the building from the approaching car's side windows, Snake Eyes noted that there was a large, oddly shaped elongated dome on top of the mansion. He turned to his sword brother, who had been watching Snake Eyes like a tutor watches a child who has never seen such a wonder before.

"The dome on top?" He questioned, more for verification than for curiosity. Snake Eyes nodded.

"That's the greenhouse. I had this place built while Cobra was taking over the world… and while I was searching for you. I realized that you and Timber probably won't be happy having to stay indoors on rainy days… that is if you wouldn't mind staying with your old sword brother?" Storm Shadow asked. Snake Eyes smiled and nodded happily, it felt really good to be asked if he wanted to be somewhere rather than 'assigned' or requested… it felt so… cold… sometimes. So after years of being placed where he was suppose to go rather than where he wanted to be, the opportunity that presented itself was not going to be denied.

Storm Shadow sat up as the car pulled around to the stairs, nodding to Snake Eyes as he started to get out. Snake eyes followed his sword brother into the massive dwelling, trying to note every detail of it as he entered. The walls were a plush, softened set of colors, mostly in blues and tans, but it felt really relaxing just to be present in the abode. Storm Shadow made sure he stayed near Snake Eyes while the younger man explored the place like a curious puppy that had just been brought home. He had to admit that the black clad man was pretty much always a puppy to him… such that when he wanted one, for some reason he was always denied… by either a man or forces that worked against him. That's why Hard Master had to go, after all, he couldn't have the Arashikage master getting in the way of his plans. And keeping Snake Eyes on that pedestal that kept him above everyone else on the island, untouchable and unreachable… Hard Master wouldn't even let them stare at the younger man while they were training, in fear that they would try to take Snake Eyes from his protective wings. And given that most of the boys would kill for a chance to even spend an evening talking to him, Hard Master was firm about keeping Snake Eyes away from everyone, except Tommy. And when Tommy made a move, that ended quickly… and within the next week, Cobra came into the picture. Yeah… Cobra found him… or did he find Cobra? He couldn't remember… who shot master? Him? Zartan? Some other Cobra assassin?

Everything was one giant blur after another.

But he did remember one thing… one sure fact. Snake Eyes got in the way… and suffered for Tommy's mistake of not stopping the younger man. His lost voice was just the beginning of the troubles the younger man would face after that dreadful day. Over the course of the next three years, he would join the Joes, find Scarlett (a whore in Storm Shadow's mind…), and end up getting terribly burned in a helicopter crash that cost him his beautiful face-

Wait… did he just get jealous of a female… because she had Snake Eyes attention? And called him beautiful…

…fuck.

What was wrong with him? Snake Eyes surely swung in the other direction, he liked RED haired CURVY females that fought for GOOD. Not dark haired, flat chested bastards like him who killed their master just to get closer to power…

Or… was it to get close to Snake Eyes?

Snake Eyes snapped the other man out of his inner dwelling thoughts and motioned towards the upstairs. Storm Shadow had not had time to actually play around his new home, it was literally finished a day before their return to the island nation.

"Oh that's right, there's some cool stuff on the second, third and fourth floors. They are still working on something in the basement, but there is plenty to see before tomorrow alone. Come, I want to show you the theatre and meditation room. Oh, I also threw in an arcade… just for the hell of it." The white clad man sneered, making Snake Eyes blanch at the idea of a personal arcade in the house… because just like every male on the planet, having your own personal arcade ranked among the coolest things one could ever own.

The puppyish Snake Eyes followed his new mas- old friend, to the second floor, where like the first floors 50 large rooms, each with twenty to thirty foot ceilings and gorgeously decorated and lavish corridors, this floor matched with smaller rooms, about 15 foot ceilings, and seemed to be more personal entertainment… to which Snake Eyes couldn't help but notice that part of Storm Shadows dvd collection was covered with a heavy cloth… now what could he be hiding? Other than the somewhere near 50,000 books in his library, huge kitchen with professional stainless steel cookware and a very nice granite counter, enormous dining room that could easily sit 70 people on a light evening, and large stone balcony which displayed into a very nice garden with a 10 foot wall that bordered the flowering bushes, ivy vines, and trees that littered the ground in beautiful colors during the spring, considering currently it was fall and all their leaves were dead with the glowing oranges, yellows and reds that signified the end of their life cycle this year. It really was a sight on its own, leaving Snake Eyes breathless… and slighty jealous, if not pained by the idea, of the woman who would receive this abode when she married Storm Shadow.

Another floor after that was all bedrooms, which Storm Shadow had told him, were for guests, but Snake Eyes never saw Storm Shadow as much of an entertainer… then again, a fair amount of time had separated them. Perhaps the older man had taken some new interests?

The fourth floor was clearly reserved for Storm Shadow and… what appeared to be another person. This floor only contained two bedrooms, both very large; and one large open room that lead to one of many balconies that sparing appeared around the mansion. Both rooms were gorgeous, and were decorated with pale blues and light creamy whites. The plush carpet beneath their feet was certainly expensive, but Storm Shadow gave Snake Eyes a look that said 'well worth the expense for everything in this mansion'. The light fixtures in every room were modern, sleek, sexy stainless steel; and the wood floors on the first two levels were solid oak, treated so that they would never get a single scratch.

"Snake Eyes… perhaps we should get dinner and relax for the rest of the evening. I was hoping to get the chance to fight you within the week; if the medics allow it and you feel ready for it." The white clad man spoke gently, wanting nothing more than to throw himself at Snake Eyes and tackle him to the be- no. No Storm Shadow. Stop that. He… he could have others. He could have anyone he wanted…

-I was hoping that as well brother. Perhaps a movie and dinner?- The younger gesticulated through Japanese sign language, smiling at his sword brother the entire time. Storm Shadow could have sworn he felt his chest ache just by seeing Snake Eyes so relaxed.

"Come, we have plenty to eat here, and we can kick off our clothes and relax rather than deal with people. You pick the movie." Storm Shadow said as he left for the kitchen.

* * *

~Four Weeks Later~

The medics finally allowed Snake Eyes to leave the safety of the mansion while Storm Shadow was running his new empire, slowly organizing things as they needed to be. Most of the issues were just clearing out some… 'bad guys'… from the back alleys and bars of Hong Kong and Singapore so that they could move about freely. Needless to say… Storm Shadow's minions took care of them. And no one found the bodies.

But to Tommy, that didn't matter right now. He was headed on a small boat to the island they grew up on with his best friend in the entire world. And after almost six years of waiting, longing, wondering what he was going to do about the future, it was all coming into perspective. Here, on their old play grounds, he would have to defeat Snake Eyes for his perfect plan to come to fruition. The dark clad man in question was currently curled against his arm while the boat driver ignored the almost obvious display of affection the younger man had for the older. Storm Shadow was so lost in his thoughts that he barely noticed when Snakes Eyes sleepy fingers wrapped around his hand and gave it a little squeeze. Worst came to worst the younger could always claim that he was dreaming of Scarlett, not that Storm Shadow wanted to hear about that bitch.

As they docked at the recently restored wooden planked structure, Storm Shadow hauled Snake Eyes out of the boat and held him at arm's length to speak to him.

"Ok, I'll give you a 15 minute head start to place anything you want to around the island. All of the old traps were taken out when they repaired this place, but anything you need is in the main house in the old rooms. Take your time, I have a few calls to make before I can start." Tommy said as he patted the younger man on the shoulder once.

"Good luck brother…" Storm Shadow resisted the urge to press a kiss into the younger man's forehead… and it was so tempting…

~_NO. STOP THAT_~. Storm Shadow's own mind screeched at him like a crazed woman who controls everyone. He stood frozen as he watched the younger man heading towards the main house, then turned back to the boat and sat on the edge of the dock… remembering when they were kids and how they used to feed the fish here… back when there were fish that would congregate around the dock about noon time to get bread crumbs.

…what he would give to return to those younger years…

* * *

Duke was actually enjoying this day out. So far Cobra Commander…Rex… had taken him all around Washington DC. They'd eaten at a quaint little restaurant on the main drag, and visited the Smithsonian, wasted a good five hours there just bugging around the science halls and staring at animals, and managed to even catch a movie together… in an oddly vacant theater. They sat in the back and at one point, Rex tried to sneak his hand up Conrad's shirt… but Duke thought he could at least try it. If this was going to be the rest of his life… perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if he got to enjoy himself like this for a little while. And Rex was being really nice, no threats, no chains, no declarations of superiority… it almost made Duke want to rethink his current decision to leave…

"Duke?" Rex said, breaking the man's concentration. Conrad looked at him with surprise, noting that the movie had ended and Rex was holding his hand out for Conrad to get up. Duke took the hand and felt himself pulled into a hug.

"You know… I really liked this night. I take it you've made your decision…" the slightly younger man said, a sad tone in his speech. Duke felt terrible for what he was about to do.

"Yeah… but… I need to talk to you about it." He said, pulling Rex towards the doors and into the waiting car. Once seated and driving, Duke reached into his pocket to pull out an envelope. He handed it to the for once nicely dressed Rex. He always was a t-shirt and jeans type of guy, so seeing him in a nice sweater and dress shirts was different.

"I… I'm going to leave for a few days. No more than a week" he started, noting how sad Rex looked.

"However… after that… I'm either going to call you… or you'll have my answer." Rex looked at the other man in slight fear, but with an added dose of curiosity.

"If I don't call you and you can't stand to be without me… that's my family farm's address. Send your guys there to come get me if you need me that much. I just have to finish up a few… loose ends… myself. Ok?" Conrad said, gently taking Rex's hand in his and smiling at the man. Rex nodded, climbing out of the car and watching as Duke went from one car to another… and drove out of Rex's life…

…he honestly doubted Duke would even care enough to call… but he respected this decision.

A female employee walked up behind him carefully and spoke lightly.

"You know… if it's meant to happen… it's going to happen whether or not you have any influence over it…" She said, making Rex look frightened, then relieved. He smiled back and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Get my nanomites ready… I want these scars taken care of. After all, we have a conference tomorrow and I must look my best."

* * *

Swords clanged together, viciously ringing off of their forge sibling. The steel cried out in a mixture of sorrow and relief, each tap sounding like a breath of air from a sealed tomb. Punches and kicks landed like boulders smashing against a mountain, bruising and breaking minor bones with every movement the other made.

"Sorry brother! But I can't let you win this time…" Storm Shadow hissed, watching at the now shirtless Snake Eyes crouched on the ground before him. The younger man caught his breath, only to find a knee to his chest and a weight on his shoulder, reeling him downwards, pinning him to the ground on his back. He then looked up at the white clad man who was holding a sword to his throat.

"Do you surrender?" Storm Shadow panted, not really intending to hurt the younger man, but the seriousness in his tone might defer the younger man from trying anything stupid. Snake Eyes shook his head no, then grabbed at the white clad man's bloodied sleeve, courtesy of his blade five minutes earlier, and pulled only to get a fist into the jaw and a harsh pinch to a nerve on his shoulder. He could barely feel his bones and muscles throbbed in pain. He felt the need to rest…

Slowly…

Slowly fading…

"I ask again… are you ready to surrender?" The white clad man whispered as he leaned down to the younger's ear. Snake Eyes tried to grasp his sword in instinct… but felt his heart stopping him. It's twinges of longing and deprived love ripping at his mind. He stopped grabbing his sword and just focused on blocking the next hit from Storm Shadow. The white clad ninja looked at him slowly.

"Snake Eyes…" He whispered. Snake Eyes gently reached up to his sword brother's hilt and lightly touched it… just so that he could feel the sword that would probably kill him in a few minutes. Then again… what was living when he knew that Storm Shadow would reject him? He'd rather die at the hands of his sword brother than try to keep up this charade of false happiness for the rest of his life. And if Storm Shadow ever found out about his love for the white clad man, he probably wouldn't even honor him with a smile, less likely a merciful killing after rejecting him. No, he'd make him live with the shame and regret for ever having such thoughts.

Storm Shadow panted slower now that they had stopped their fighting.

"Do you give?" He asked… slightly fearful that his answer would not be what he wanted it to be. Snake Eyes smiled behind the mask. He gently picked up his sword and sheathed it, turning it towards the other man's chest in surrender.

His bruised and beaten body screamed at him to lose himself in the darkness of restful unconsciousness… but before he could, Storm Shadow sheathed his own sword and placed them both aside, leaning down to pull off Snake Eyes mask. His own soon followed, revealing the handsome face that Snake Eyes had longed to hold for so many years.

"Finally…" he whispered, coming closer to the younger man's face… "You are mine…" he said, throwing all caution to the wind, forgetting everything he thought, and gently pressing his lips into the black clad man's once broken ones.

They both just stayed there for a few minutes…neither seemed to be breathing… just simply enjoying the other's presence. Snake Eyes relaxed, a mixture of relief for being alive and happiness for not being rejected overwhelmed him… and the next thing he knew, he was swimming in darkness as the stress on his body, blood loss, and emotions overwhelmed him into the peacefulness of unconsciousness.

The last thing he remembered was falling back into Storm Shadow's arms as they caught him before his head reached the ground and the other whispering his name in a hushed, breathless, fearful tone.

* * *

As Duke got out at the Baltimore Washington Airport terminal, he looked back at the car's driver, catching his attention.

"Hey, can I get your department's number? I have a future plan for Re- Cobra Commander, and I might need a ride that he won't know about until after I get back." Conrad said, gently probing the air for any signs of wavering. The driver smiled.

"Sure man, what do you have in mind?" He asked good naturedly.

"A pick up at the end of the week for me and my stuff so I can show up at night and surprise him when he's in bed. That's going to be my answer, and if he doesn't like- well, he'll like it. Catch my drift?" Conrad said, winking at the driver. The driver smiled, gave him their department number, and waved goodbye. No one in the government held prejudice these days, it was a thing of the past. The future was full of acceptance… as long as the terrorists stopped.

"Have a nice trip! See you in a week Sir!" Conrad heard as he walked towards the terminal and looked for his flight. Not that he really felt like he was going 'home' anymore… it just didn't feel the same.

* * *

…and with that I will update in a week…or so… things here are going fast. I barely have time to answer emails, and my research teach isn't really communicating with us right now.

Still working on requests, and editing things when I have time and energy. BUT I WANT ALL A'S THIS TIME. And… in the hard sciences… you have to fight for those every day. Cell bio's kicking my butt and human anatomy is going 100 mph in the labs.

Reviews make me want to take my time during my only break in the day to write more. :D


	6. Resting Rattlesnakes

Caught by a Cobra

Chapter 6

Resting Rattlesnake

* * *

Quick side note: fight against LU. They are offensive and uncalled for as a bullying group here. They are deleting fics left and right to make room for themselves and push younger writers out so they can take over the site.

Also, if you haven't caught on yet, all the chapters are named after some kind of serpent. I'm actually having issues with figuring out new names. So if you have any ideas, let me know please~ you will get credit for your idea.

Thank you all my reviewers! It means so much to me!

* * *

Snake Eyes awoke to the sound of rain gently pattering against the window of the room he was in. Forcing his eyelids to obey, the first thing he noted was the darkness of the room. It must have been very cloudy outside, because none of the lights were on and the closest of the large windows in the room had its curtains tied open, allowing the sheltering light of a gray, overcast sky to darken the room to a calming tone. As the once black clad man rolled over onto his side, he noted from the numbness that was throughout most of his body that he must have been placed under a sedative. He tried to rise, only to receive a pinching sensation in his arm. Looking over, an IV was beside his bed and hooked to his right arm. He then threw back the covers and saw the bandages covering his chest and arms, and he was certain that there were a few underneath his apparently new black microfiber pants. How badly had he been injured?

Once he ignored the pain and managed to sit all the way up, he realized that he was in Storm Shadow's room on the top floor of the mansion. His room was a different shade of dulled blue, and his didn't have the white clad man's signature white lacquered swords proudly displayed on the shelf above the bed… along with his own black lacquered, once worn blades sitting right beneath it's siblings (someone had taken the time to repaint the lacquer on them while he was resting). He pushed himself off the bed and gently detached the IV from his arm while standing, laying the bloody needle like device on the bedside wooden table on top of a cloth as he walked towards the door. He cracked open the large wooden panel and peaked outside, hearing familiar voices.

"I'm sorry but he's not awake yet, he's been sleeping under IV's for two days now. I'll let you know when the medics believe he is ready for the nanomites." Storm Shadow's voice said, speaking into a video conference screen. Snake Eyes placed his right hand on the door while he tried to listen in, curiosity making him lean forward to hear everything. He felt the sudden weight of the world push itself on his shoulders as the weakness and soreness of his muscles fought through the remaining sedatives to force him to hold onto the door for support.

"I know you are protective of him Storm Shadow, but he should be able to take the nanomites even with his current condition. Are you concerned that his body will reject them?" the icy voice of Mindbender (who is now in this story because no one else fits the bill here… I mean really, I can't find anyone else to fill this position of crazy mad genius who likes to work on people against their will. Rex is busy making himself pretty for Duke while getting inexcusably drunk pining over him, so Mindbender's back) said, making Snake Eyes draw back into the room just slightly. Storm Shadow frowned at the screen.

"He's my sword brother, would you expect anything less?" The white robed man asked quaintly, trying to keep his internal emotions under control so the mad man wouldn't see any weakness in him. Mindbender smirked into the screen.

"Sure he is 'just your sword brother', you can keep pulling that act Storm Shadow, but the rest of us know damn well what you and him are. I can wait until you are ready to proceed, but be mindful, we do find it cute that you've finally found a lover." The mad man said insidiously with a delighted smirk. Storm Shadow growled.

"**HE'S NOT MY LOVER**!" Just as the screen went blank, leaving a red faced Storm Shadow dying to destroy the offending piece of technology with the man's cocky image previously on it. Snake Eyes thought about coming out of the room… but perhaps Storm Shadow didn't want to see him at the moment… after all, he'd lost the fight rather pathetically.

Just as Snake Eyes thought that humbling thought, Storm Shadow turned towards him and stopped in his tracks.

"Snake Eyes." He said bluntly and quietly, the white clad man confused and fearful that his eyes were playing tricks on him. Snake Eyes looked up at the other man and dropped his shoulders from their tense position.

"You… you shouldn't be out of bed yet…" Storm Shadow started, approaching the younger man while untying his robe and dropping it off his shoulders carefully, then brought it up to Snake Eyes broad muscles and wrapped it around the younger man's body loosely.

"You look cold, let's get you back to bed. You've been out for two days straight." Storm Shadow said, placing his arms around the younger man's shoulders calmly and leading him back to the room he'd just emerged from. Snake Eyes noticed the sudden change in temperature, the room he'd been staying in was slightly warmer than the rest of the floor.

"There are storms all around us, and it looks like it's going to be days before we see any sunlight again. But in the mean time, you need your rest. You are still pretty injured after our battle… and… there are things to discuss…" The white clad man said, gently easing Snake Eyes onto the bed and sitting beside him. He maneuvered the younger man down and gently brushed his face with the side of his hand. Snake Eyes looked at the other man softly, taking in Storm Shadow's smile.

-So… I lost?- Snake Eyes signaled. Storm Shadow smiled and brushed the younger man's face gently with the side of his hand, comforting the formerly black clad man, who was now stripped down to Storm Shadow's robe and a pair of fluffy black pants, clearly intended for relaxation.

"Not yet… not until you admit defeat when you have healed… I want you in the right mind and not some medically induced cloud. I want you as we were Snake Eyes… before the rest interfered…" The white clad man whispered to a sleepy Snake Eyes as he replaced the IV into the taped mess of needle holsters on the younger mans arm. Snake Eyes could have sworn he was dreaming… yeah, this was all a dream. Nothing more, he'd wake up and Storm Shadow would have his own room beside Snake Eyes room and he'd have medical staff fussing over him again. Or he'd still be in that little cave in the Rockies, with Timber and his basic supplies, wondering when things were going to go from his position.

"…before the Joes… before Cobra… before Hard Master…" Snake Eyes could have sworn he felt lips on his cheek as he slipped in and out of his drugged haze.

"Oh Snake Eyes… I have so many plans for us… and I doubt you'll hear this…" Storm Shadow whispered, assuming the rhythmic breathing and closed eyes of the younger man meant slumber had swaddled him away from the tangible world once again.

"…but… you will have your voice and scars fixed… all of them that I can fix…" Storm Shadow hauled his body across the bed's satin sheets and laid his head down beside the younger man's resting body, who he still assumed was asleep. Snake Eyes could hear every word, and was certain that he was delusional from the medicine in the IV. That's all it could be… there was no way that Storm Shadow, the hottest ninja in the Arashikage clan, was sitting here next to him… telling him the plans for the future…

* * *

Duke arrived at his family farm about three hours after he landed. It felt different to finally be home after all this time. The nostalgia here was going to kill him before he even got out of the car. He could clearly see the old apple tree that he and the boys used to play under as kids, long before the war…

"CONRAD!" A shrill voice broke the silence that he was entertaining… Aunt Gayle was here…

"Hey Aunt Gayle! Man it's been too long." –umph!- "Where's Uncle?" He asked, embracing her with love and comfort as she tried to crush him with a hug strong enough to make a bear whimper. He hadn't seen her since he'd left for war four years ago. She'd cried for him while waiting at the airport, knowing subtly in the back of her mind that he might not return. So when the boy stopped writing to her, she cried for eight days straight, until he finally wrote back and she realized he was just on an elongated mission. Her nephew was growing up much faster than she thought… he wondered if would be mad if she found out that he'd already had sex with a girl… and had fantasies of his platoon members… mainly Rex…

Rex… he looked so sad when Duke was leaving…

Conrad knew that he had to make things right between them… and he was actually entertaining the idea of going back to Rex a lot more than he thought he would have…

But it was Rex… he'd become a mad man… he'd killed so many… he hurt so many more… it left Conrad with confused thoughts and fearful mind. Would Rex remain sane if things kept going as they were? Would he revert back to a mad man? Would just Duke being there keep him calmer? What if he asked for marriage? Was that even legal yet? So many questions… so few answers…

"I *sniffle* can't *cry* believe you *sob* are here! *more sobbing*" Duke just let her cry, knowing that she was certain he was dead. After all there had been no news of him alive since his mission with the Joe's had started in that wondrous place called the Pit. As she was crying, Uncle Jeff walked up to the couple to see Conrad being crushed under the weight of Gayle's hug, which was pushing his face upwards at an odd angle, despite her shorter stature.

"Conrad… you're alive!" He said, approaching the two and giving them a group hug. He'd missed the boy too. He hadn't expressed it, but he was afraid that the younger man would not return alive.

"Uncle… I missed you guys… but can you let go of me for a moment?" he asked, slightly sarcastic in good humor. They relaxed and led him into the old house, it had been repaired a lot since he'd last been there, but that's what time away does to a place. Since both Aunt Gayle and Uncle Jeff had good jobs as farmers, they didn't leave the property these days. Everyone came to see them, so they didn't have to leave for much. Conrad couldn't believe that his old room was still there, after all, they had never had kids of their own, so when Conrad's parents died, he came to live with them. They'd taken really good care of him in those years, and he really appreciated it. Even through the teenage depression and the dramatic moments where he thought about leaving and never returning. Looking back, he'd been a fool to think that.

* * *

Snake Eyes awoke once more to the sounds of people over him. This time the medics were checking over his injuries and giving the IV bag they had just replaced (based on how full it was) a shot of… something.

"Storm Shadow, I know you are not comfortable with this, but this batch is just to help him heal. Nothing more. If anything else happens to him because of this, you can beat the ever living crap out of us." The medic said as he pressed the plunger into the needle, releasing the nanomites.

"I trust you Soji, I know you won't betray me. You've taken such good care of the Arashikage clan in the past, why would you try something stupid now… you are a smart man… and the only one I trust with Snake Eyes right now." The icy cold voice of Storm Shadow came across the room. Snake Eyes could barely feel the supposed pain of the nanomites filled his bloodstream, feeling as only a buzz through the haze of the painkillers.

"Storm Shadow… you know… just throwing this out there as an option… but I could get these nanomites to repair his vocal cords and scars if you wanted me to. That's not that much of a extra chore to them, would you like to do it now and save the time and effort?" Soji asked, leaving Snake Eyes with the feeling of slight dread and anxiety. Of course he would like to have his voice back, why the heck wouldn't he?

One minute…

Two minutes…

Three minutes…

"…Do it…" The white clad man finally said, releasing the room from the tension that was so deeply set there. The medic let go of the breathe he was holding and pulled something from his bag, a small computer. Chances are that computer was the control device.

"I… know he has wanted his voice back for a while now… who am I do deny him that which was so unfairly taken from him?" Storm Shadow said as he walked back over to the bed and sat down beside the younger man's still form, pulling his legs up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them like a big brother waiting to hear about his younger sibling. The medic smiled at the man, knowing that it would be a good idea to keep quiet and just let the younger man have his way. Storm Shadow was never a very good listener when it came to the one thing he really wanted. Everything else in his life had been handed to him- money, power, close higher up connections, and any material object he could ask for. But Snake Eyes was different. He was the Holy Grail that Storm Shadow couldn't just buy or convince someone to give it to him. He had to earn Snake Eyes trust back after the incident on the island…

"You know… I hate to say this, but you might make me lose a bet I had with the boys." Soji commented, making Storm Shadow's head shoot up from its warm space in the folds of his arm.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused by the medic's statement. Soji laughed and smiled at him.

"We had an ongoing bet or two about you. The first was that you were into guys. About half the company got that one right. The second was that you were into an old schoolmate. None of us got that right. The third is still going, but it's over who you will end up with. I had my bet in on Snake Eyes since I found out that you and he were still trying to beat one another in your school games. When I heard that you had brought him back with the intention of saving him, I was not surprised. After all, you trained with the Baroness for a year without pursuing her. Who else could it have been?" Soji said, leaving Storm Shadow blushing.

Storm Shadow glared at the other man. Soji chuckled.

"It was questionable for a while there, but yes, I saw it. You shouldn't fight your emotions so much. It's not healthy… and the war is over. Now is the time to look towards the new generation. You and Snake Eyes have fought long and hard, perhaps it's time to settle down and start the school again, look for the future… and find a future with each other." The medic said carefully. Storm Shadow chuckled light heartedly, trying to break the tenseness in his own shoulders and show the medic off, but one could hear that there was heaviness behind his thoughts.

"Only sad part is…there won't be any heirs for the Arashikage to continue with. All my cousins are dead, as are my aunts and uncles. I'm the last one to my knowledge." The white clad man said, his shoulders shifting downward as he spoke. Soji chuckled.

"Where there is a will, there is a way… and with your Commander's nanomites… I might be able to make another way happen…" Soji was trailing off to a subject most did not touch.

"We… shall discuss that more later. Snake Eyes must heal for now… " Storm Shadow said, making Snake Eyes relax through the growing tension in his shoulders. Aside from the natural curiosity, the relieved feeling was welcomed. But from the sounds of thing, Storm Shadow was planning something… and Snake Eyes wasn't sure of his attraction to said plans.

* * *

Rex was bored out of his mind.

And a bored Rex was a destructive Rex.

He was currently destroying his napkin as he listened to his staff higher ups yap on over lunch about how the nations were doing. Trade was up, food stocks were equally distributed, malnutrition and disease were obliterated, and third world countries were looking more like second world countries. Overall it seemed pretty darn good for the first year (less than a year in total honesty, but who can complain?)

Truth be told, the new ruler of the word was daydreaming about a certain blonde man dressed up in nothing but black cargo pants hanging lower than normal and sitting in front of him, eyes begging him to join him in bed. He couldn't care less about the world's economic status, he just wanted to curl up in bed with his pet and be done with the day. What he would give to be nestled between the heavy blankets, numerous voluptuous pillows, and Duke's warm body- total bliss.

"Sir? Commander?" One lackey asked, breaking Rex from his spell of thoughts.

"Yes?" He asked, completely lost in his own mind. The entire table was staring at him with huge eyes.

"Your phone is going off." The man said, making Rex grab his phone and looked at what appeared to be a text message. Who the hell in their right mind would be texting the new leader of the wor- ooo text message!

He opened the message quickly while motioning for the men to carry on with the conversation. It was from an unknown number. Rex opened it anyways, just to see who needed to be shot in the back of the head for such an attempt at contacting him.

_**-I have to say, the farm is quiet. Made me think of you. Everything ok in DC?-**_

…no way… it… it couldn't be… but it was.

Duke had actually texted him before he'd broken down and tried to destroy the world to get the blonde to come back to him! How did he have Rex's cell numb- oh wait, yeah, he'd given to Duke the first week he was here so the other man could have a way to contact him if needed (and a way to break Rex's concentration at meetings that he didn't care about).

Rex nodded his head as the men spoke around him and texted the other man back.

_**-All's quiet here, miss u. Wish I was in bed. Bored 2 death. Meeting=ZZZ. How's fam?- **_

Rex might have just walked out of the lunch meeting, but choose to sit and wait for the other man's text back, dying to hear his voice but realizing he'd have more time to talk over text than to force a call that would last five minutes at best. When his phone lit up from the received text message, he opened it quickly and nodded at whatever the men were saying.

_**-Fam's good. Got hugged 2 death. Goats r still mean. calf sucked my thumb. haven't put on shirt all day. Got clawed by chicken. U?- **_

Rex felt his body heating up from that comment, but kept it underneath the napkin and tried to wait out the meeting. The idea of Duke shirtless and muscles bulging out just enough to look sexy was enthralling to the other man. Oh what he would give to throw the other man onto the bed and ravish him! To watch that muscled chest bulging out as he cried out Rex's name in passion, thrusting against his body as Rex held him to the bed. In his dreams Duke would be willing, but chances are even as complacent as he was right now, Duke would have fought him the entire way. Even though he was sure that the other man had done some things with the other men in their platoon long before the science officer had joined them, Rex assumed Duke had been on top. He was the type to be alpha male in bed after all.

_**-In a meeting still, daydreaming of u to pass time. How r things working out there?-**_

Rex hoped that the other man would return, but part of him didn't want to get his hopes up if the other man didn't want anything to do with him after the love he felt at his home. Even though Duke had even him the address, he wanted Duke to come to him willingly, not having to force the love of his life to be dragged back (again he realized… but Duke would have run if Rex hadn't forced him to stay!).

_**-…things r ok here… talking to Aunt & Uncle about us… need to think about it a little more…but I think I have my answer…-**_ Rex felt his heart drop a little at that text. Duke must have chosen to stay there and forget Rex. That's what it was…

…maybe shooting some target practice would make him feel better… or just getting a milkshake.

Duke gathered his bags after 5 days with the family. It had been enlightening, but he had to make his way back to Washington if he was going to make it back on time.

"Now, you take good care of that boy. He's got a good heart behind that crazy mind. Even if he did take over the world, he clearly cares about you a lot. And, if this is the path you want to walk, we're behind you on it…" Aunt Gayle said as she patted him on the shoulders. Conrad felt his heart melting again at the comments she made. Uncle then stepped up to the younger man.

"But you are going to have grandkids for us one day! If his crazy mind don't allow that, I'm kicking his ass." Conrad laughed at the older man's joke, knowing full well that adoption was a clear choice in the future.

"I'm going to miss you guys, but I'll try to call when I can. I… I'm sure this is the right path for me. And if it's not, he won't stop me from leaving." Duke said, always giving all possible options when it came to big decisions. They both hugged him and watched as he got on the plane to leave, smiling at them as they watched him go once again. This journey was going to be a hell of a ride.

"…he's going to get driven crazy, isn't he hun?" Gayle asked.

"Yup… maybe we should look at adoptin'?"

* * *

Outside Storm Shadow's new mansion, a man was playing with Timber. He attached a small camera to the wolf's new collar that Storm Shadow had to wrestle him down to the ground just to attach in the first place. By law, every pet needed a collar or a microchip, and Timber was no exception. He shoved the wolf back towards the gate of the large pen that enclosed some wooded areas for the wolf to play in, and took his swift leave. On his back was a single tattoo.

'Viva la Resistance'

* * *

Et finite

Anyways, will update as soon as possible. Working on everything in the world here. Research is good, human anatomy sucks. Cell bio I love, lecture I loathe. Could they make these tests any harder?

Anyways, if you guys want a blooper between two characters, let me know and I will see what I can do. I love playing around with new things when I actually allowed to have fun. (also, let me know if there are any typos, I'm human and I make mistakes).

Next chapter! Someone gets in trouble for helping the resistance! Who could it be now?


	7. Aching Asps

Caught by a Cobra

Chapter 7:

* * *

Alright, after being drown in tests (some good, some not), and figuring out what I want to do with me research (thank you Deviants, you were a huge help in that), I'm finally back. I still have 2 tests in the immediate future, but I will battle through them.

To those who comment on this portion on DA, you will get a free request. Anything goes as long as I can draw it on paper.

To those of FF, thanks for the reviews! It's been really inspiring, and if you want to find me on DA, just look for caught there and you will find me!

You guys also get a treat today- a blooper!

So read, review, comment, and you get prizes! In the mean time, I'm back to studying. Fun… (shoots textbook) i do not own, just playing with these guys.

* * *

Snake Eyes awoke to the sound of pattering rain once again. Storm Shadow did say that it would keep raining for a while, so he wasn't surprised. He carefully sat up to see who was monitoring him this time. Fortunately, no human was in the room… but to his fearful shock, a large white tiger lounged on the far side of the room, gently kicking the air with it's back left paw as it twisted and showed it's muscular build to all that could see the beast. It had a collar on, so Snake Eyes assumed it was a pet.

He forced himself out of bed, noting that not only was the IV gone, but everything felt so much better after he sat up and took a deep breath. In fact, the only thing that seemed to hurt at all was a twinge of pain in his chest where his lungs had been pressed into the scattered pillows around the bed when he flipped over sometime in the night… or was pulled over. Where he was positioned was oddly conformed to the shape of another in the bed… and while it was a distant dream, perhaps Storm Shadow longed for some kind of company in the night and grabbed him instead of a pillow, then just stayed like that until morning.

Snake Eyes got out of the bed and pulled on a black silk robe that was left for him, which matched his pajamas. He assumed that Storm Shadow's sense of 'higher treatment for his guests and friends' was coming into play there, making Snake Eyes as comfortable as possible.

As he walked towards the door, with no resistance this time, he kept his eyes on the cat that was sunning itself in the darkened storm clouds. It was morning according to the clock on the bedside table.

"I see that you've met the new addition to the household." The familiar voice of Storm Shadow came to Snake Eyes ears as he turned his head towards the open doorway. Storm Shadow was completely dressed and leaning against the door, smirking at the younger man.

"She won't bite. She's as tame as they come. Even if she tried anything, I had her injected with controlled behavioral nanomites, to which on that note, I see the nanomites did their job without any issues for you." Storm Shadow said as he pushed himself off the door way and approached the younger man, who just stood there with a content smile on his face. True, he was glad to see his old training mate, but more importantly, he was glad that this was the start of an era where they wouldn't be at each other's throats with their blades before words came into play. To be fair, he was getting tired of having to clean sword wounds after each battle.

"So how do you feel?" Storm Shadow asked. Snake Eyes immediately started gesticulating. Storm Shadow laughed at the younger man, gently taking the younger's hands in his own and lifting them to his lips, kissing them like a gentleman would to a fair lady.

"Snakes… you can talk now." Storm Shadow said calmly as he placed his hand on the younger man's neck gently, running his thumb over the younger's vocal cords. "The nanomites healed everything, even the scars on your face apparently." Snake Eyes looked at him with wide eyes and opened his uncovered mouth. He'd forgotten his mask, proved only by Tommy gently taking his face in the sword worn hands and running a callused thumb over the younger man's now unblemished cheek.

"I- I…" he could barely croak, but Storm Shadow smiled at the young man and gently took him into a warm embrace. He ran his nose over the younger's neck and breathed in his warm scent. Snake Eyes relaxed into the hug, bringing his own arms up to the other man's back and holding him closely.

"It's ok. The medics said it would be a few days until you got the hang of talking again. It's been a while… almost 8 years… it's not surprise that the muscles haven't healed yet. Take your time to get used to them again. But for now, come with me. I want to show you how the world's doing while you have been resting." Storm Shadow said as he brought his arms around the younger man and gently pulled him towards the doorway and down the hall.

"But first things first, let's get you some real food. Those IV's are killer on your body." Storm Shadow said as he brought Snake Eyes down to the kitchen. Everything was off, but the cook was there and smiled at them as they entered the kitchen, nodding as Storm Shadow asked him (politely Snake Eyes noted) to make some pancakes and eggs. Storm Shadow then brought Snake Eyes into the living room, where he'd apparently camped out the night before for a few minutes while the younger man rested. No reason to disturb a resting man when one could watch television downstairs.

"I had a phone call and I didn't want to wake you at 6 am this morning, so I grabbed the phone and came down here at 5:30 to get dressed and take the call without disturbing you. Cobra Commander isn't very patient at that hour of US time. Perhaps the fact that Duke has left him temporarily is effecting his mood… it sure as hell isn't doing anything for the rest of us." Storm Shadow explained. True, Cobra Commander had sobered up when dealing with people after Duke had taken off. This just made him that much more volatile while dealing with him. Snake Eyes just smiled as he was pulled under the blanket on the sofa and watched as Storm Shadow wrapped it around him twice. It was a very nice blue denim comforter, and the air in the house was a little chilly, so between feeling Storm Shadow sitting beside him and the warmth the blanket offered, he was quite content to stay there all day.

Snake Eyes couldn't help but notice that his sword brother was tense underneath the happy exterior, thus proven by his flexing muscles and holding him close to the white clad man's chest tightly.

* * *

It was night when Duke arrived back at Washington D.C. , and it actually seemed rather peaceful through the stormy night. The rain was coming down at a steady rate, not too fast, but not slow enough to walk back to the new world leader's house without a car.

He grabbed his cell phone and drew out the piece of paper that the escort had given him on the day he'd left for home. He punched the numbers in with his thumb while sitting with his things on a bench inside the dampened airport unloading area. It rang a few times before his call went through.

"Hello, White House Office of Presidential Affairs, how may I help you today." A standard male voice said over the phone. Duke smiled at the phone and spoke.

"Yeah, I'm Duke, Commander's man. Any chance I can get a pick up at the Baltimore Washington D.C. airport? I asked for one when I left for home." Duke said politely. The secretary responded.

"Yes sir, we will have a car out in about 30 minutes. Which terminal are you at?" he asked.

"United Airways." Duke responded, adjusting himself in his chair.

"Alrighty, be there in a few." The man said as he hung up, leaving Duke to his thoughts as the rain pattered outside the clear glass of the airport wall. Part of him felt like a certain peace had blanketed his mind, while at the same time, a wild storm was headed his way. The storm was obviously the future's expectations… and what he feared with Rex. How would he respond if Duke came back… or a better question, how would things be treated between them? Would it go back to the captive rooms and restraints? Or would Rex finally allow him some freedom?

* * *

~Intermission Dance!~ *dances* ~ Intermission dance over~

* * *

Snake Eyes was trying his best to keep himself awake. He felt liked he really had done nothing but sleep for the past few weeks while he healed. So when Storm Shadow threw in "Goldmember" for a good laugh at the double meanings in the movie, Snake Eyes couldn't help but chuckle along with his friend. It was still better than Jackass, and the morning had been very quiet, so Tommy felt the need to lighten the mood with some humor. But as Tommy threw his arms around Snake Eyes shoulders, the black clad man, who was still in his pajamas and nursing the first solid food he'd eaten in 4 days, felt unusually sleepy once again. Tommy's body was really warm, almost hot. Snake Eyes couldn't tell if it was the meds making him hypersensitive or if it was his own body betraying him, but it felt so damn good to be held by someone… particularly someone with the rippling muscles that Tommy had pressed against his body, still wrapped in sleek silk and covered by a large microfiber (uberfluffy!) blanket.

"Snakes? Are you feeling ok?" Tommy asked, pulling the younger man into a hug and placing the empty plate on the coffee table and bring Snake Eyes into a warm hug. Snake Eyes rested his head against the muscular man's shoulder, nuzzling his head into the groove unintentionally.

"Snake Eyes…" Tommy breathed, worried that the younger man was about to become very ill. Snake Eyes looked up at the older man with a drugged smile, indicative of one who was extremely sleepy.

Tommy watched as the younger man brought his hands up to the elders face and gently ran his thumb across the distinguished cheek bones. Tommy felt his body relax and just as he watched Snake Eyes shut his eyes while his own muscles relaxed into a peaceful surrender under the other man's weight, the phone rang. Not only did it break the silence that was bathing the room, but it infuriated Storm Shadow because he had to carefully slid himself out from underneath the leaning man's form and gently shut the door behind him as he exited the room.

"This better be important." The white clad man hissed.

"I thought you knew better than to take that tone with me Storm Shadow…" Hissed the serpentine voice of the Commander.

"Commander. I'm sorry, I thought you were an underling. My bad" Storm Shadow pressed, fearful that he'd pissed off the one man that could have him killed.

"We have word of a spy for the resistance in our midst… and we have suspicions that the spy might be coming from your headquarters. Would you mind helping us with a little test of this?" The Commander asked. Storm Shadow stood straight up.

"Absolutely sir, what would you like me to do?" The white clad man asked, concerned for Snake Eyes safety with a spy around. A recovering ninja was the best chance one had at getting rid of a key player in their rather fair reign.

"We're going to try a new system, and you'll have your own part. I want you to report that our strongest army is in Hong Kong and will be stationed there for a few weeks. I also want you to relay that the so called army is carrying our most important weaponry and cannot be interrupted in their path." Commander said.

"I take it the Baroness and Destro have their own set of directions?" Storm Shadow said, catching on to what the Commander was doing. By planting several 'orders', one was bound to make it to the resistance, and then they could narrow their search to who's abode was being intruded.

"Yesss… and they will be dealt with when we find them. How's your lover doing? What was his name?" Cobra Commander asked. Storm Shadow fumed.

"He's. Not. My. Lover." The white clad man said slowly. Why did everyone say that? Did they know something that he didn't?

"Hehehe, of course he's not. That's what everyone says at first, just wait." Cobra Commander stated, the naughtiness in his voice hinting that he'd been bored earlier, and probably daydreaming of a certain camouflaged man.

"Sir… onto business. I sort of left Snake Eyes on the sofa with a movie, and I'd really like to get back to him." Storm Shadow hissed through clenched teeth, holding back the urge to smash the phone in his bare hands.

"Right, here are your orders. Notify your men that 'the raid will begin at noon, standard time, at the Moscow base, outside the palace'. We shall find this spy one way or another, and I won't risk having my operation disturbed." Cobra Commander roughly spoke. He wouldn't have anything pose a threat to his operation, but more importantly, he wouldn't have anything pose a threat to his family and friends.

"Of course Cobra Commander, anything for the thought of security." Storm Shadow said as the tiger came to him and nuzzled his leg like an oversized housecat. She was young, and he had to admit she was cute, but he also anticipated the day that she tried to turn on him. She only disproved that notion by jumping up and placing her paws on his shoulders as she licked his face gently once. He chuckled over the phone as her rough tongue grazed his cheek and tickled him.

"What's so damn funny Storm Shadow?" Cobra Commander hissed, slightly agitated.

"Sorry sir, my new pet just decided to give me a kiss, that's all." Storm Shadow said as he allowed himself to be pushed back against the wall while the cat's weight overpowered his spine's weight limit.

"New pet? What furry creature did you ninjas adopt this time?" he asked, seriously considering adopting a pet himself… since Duke left, things had gotten very quiet and frankly, boring as hell. So perhaps a dog, cat, or hell- even a goldfish- would be a nice thing to come home to when he was here… that is if a certain short haired man didn't come back into his life soon.

"A tiger sir… haven't decided on a name ye-OMPH!" Storm Shadow yelped as her bulk shoved him to the floor and nuzzled his neck gently with her large wet nose.

"I see… well you have fun with your three pets. I'll be in touch with you later." Cobra Commander said as he hung up, leaving Storm Shadow to his two animals and one human pet.

* * *

The day was basically over in Washington D.C., and as Rex headed to lay his head to rest and maybe catch a few minutes of whatever news was on, he felt… odd. Like someone was watching him.

He shook the feeling off as he gripped the handle of his bedroom door and gently pushed it open, noting the normal darkness of the room that he returned to since Duke had left. He decided to leave the lights off and headed straight into the shower to rinse off the day, and the god awful cologne that one of his underlings insisted on wearing… he'd have them killed immediatel- NO. No…

Duke would have slapped him for thinking such a thought… murdering someone over how they smell… what was wrong with him? No wonder Duke had left him alone here at the top… he was a mad man… he probably should have just stayed with Cobra and ruled the world with violence and hate rather than trying to impress the one man he loved into staying with him… That had clearly failed and he had absolutely nothing to show for it (unless you counted his sister's unrelenting 'you learn so much about love' speeches… he loved the girl, but she was driving him up the wall with those speeches).

As he turned on the water and ripped off his clothing, he noted that something felt off about the bathroom too… like an unfamiliar smell had taken residence again… as if it had been there before and never wanted to leave in the first place. But again, he waved it off with an exhausted mental hand.

As the spray of water hit his shoulder and ran down his body, he allowed his thoughts to wander to other man… those rippling muscles… those heavy set cheek bones… that wonderful smile… that perfect ass…oh the thoughts alone were making Rex horny as hell…

His hands started to trail down his stomach… gently brushing the small patch of hair that was there out of the way… and then down to his cock. He gently ran a single finger down the length of it, stopping at the tip to caress it ever so slightly. He closed his eyes in the spray's heat, allowing the steam to warm his oddly cold body. He imagined Duke there instead of his hand, rubbing it slowly and gently up and down, stopping at the tip occasionally to give it a little lick in temptation. He sped his pace, going faster and faster as he thought of the other man pressing his body into the currently naked man. Rex would be on top, that was given, but the mere idea of Duke at his fingertips, naked and willing, was so enthralling to the formerly crazed genius, he allowed his body to convulse as he came, relieving the feeling he'd been holding back since 10 am this morning.

He washed the remainder of his activities off his body and quickly exited the shower, drying his muscles swiftly and throwing on a pair of sleepwear pants.

As he entered the dark bedroom, he climbed into the warm bed and felt the body beside him- WAIT! WHAT?

He turned his head swiftly and saw the resting form of Duke, the very man he'd been dreaming of each night since he left, sleeping soundly on the bed beside him, wrapped in his sheets and warm as could be. Rex wasn't sure what to do at the moment… he could just… press a single kiss into the younger man's lips and he'd probably never know…

Just one kiss… then sleep…

Just one kiss…

And just as he was about to kiss the other man, Duke's body came forward and gently fulfilled his wish, brushing against the commander's lips with gentle love. Rex could only smile and wrap his arms around the other man.

"Duke… you came back…" Rex murmured as he held his lover in his arms. Duke responded by wrapping his warm arms around the other man from underneath the covers where he'd been resting for the past hour. He pressed another kiss into the other man's head and held Rex tightly.

"Naw… I came home…"

* * *

~~~~

BLOOPER!

Destro was having a hell of a time with the Baroness…

You see, the Baroness was one of those women who wanted kids… and Destro wasn't really what one could consider a 'fatherly' kind. So when the question of kids came up, the prompt answer from him was a strict 'no'.

…well… the Baroness can be an unreasonable woman when she wants to be…and such a case like this required… less tact that most would take in her situation.

So this fair evening, the Baroness managed to procure a certain supplement to the male diet that 'helped' them want children…or at least want the act that creates children more… and slipped it into his whiskey.

Within the hour, Destro was frantically searching the castle for her, practically kicking the door open in an attempt to find her.

"Ana! Where are you my lady of the lock? Ana!" He yelled frantically, her silent laughter causing her to hold her sides as she hid in the study with her headphones on, pretending to be listening to something. Rather than hearing his calls. When he finally entered the study, she kept still and pretended to be reading the book that was in her lap. He swiftly gripped her shoulders and lifted her out of the chair, sending the iPod sprawling to the floor alongside it's papered cousin.

"William! What are you doing?" She questioned, trying her best to pretend to be startled.

"Let's just say that your wish for children may come true! Bedroom, now!" He growled ferally, enticing the Baroness into a seductive state. She couldn't complain more after the doors had shut.

The remainder of the night was spent fueling what would become a child in 9 months, but thankfully, Destro didn't need to know that.

REVIEW PLEASE!


	8. Vocal Vine Snake

Caught by a Cobra

Chapter 8:

Thank you to all my reviewers! ihas no clue,tediz-leader, greywings2, Lady Phoenix aka Chrissy, rainaria, Gryphaena, Elli Jane Farrell, and Linuxgirl! And of course~ Cassie!

* * *

Snake Eyes had to admit, waking up to the rain every morning for the past four days had been wonderful. Namely because it meant he could wakeup at his own pace rather than being jolted into the morning by the burst of sunlight from the large windows in his room- shattering his peaceful rest with blinding light.

Although he would have much rather been sleeping in Tommy's room, he felt like he had overslept his welcome in the white clad man's bed, and decided to come back to his own room. Timber was glad to join him, mostly because the wolf feared the large cat that now inhabited the white clad man's bedroom and had a rather large interest in the 'puppy'. The grey wolf had never seen a larger predator with so much interest in him, and he'd been with Snake Eyes for so long, he'd forgotten how affectionate some other creatures were when they wanted attention. So when this much larger, more powerful, and intimidating cat came onto the scene, Timber decided to take refuge underneath his table in the living room for the first three hours she pestered him.

This morning was too calm for Snake Eyes liking, and with Tommy in the next room, the temptation in the slightly younger man was killing him slowly. After all, the man was a martial arts god compared to the muscles he'd been training with for the last few years… and he could actually hold his own in a fight with the black clad ninja. So after all these years, sufficing with people who could barely last five minutes with him, Snake Eyes had been (to some degree) 'dragged' back to the white clad man that haunted his dreams…

As Snake Eyes forced himself out of the bed, Timber jumped off and made a beeline for the door, nudging it open with his nose. The cold air from the outer rooms of the house slammed against his warm skin, forcing him to throw the covers back over his freezing frame. Why did that wolf always have to do that before he got his clothes on?

After about two minutes, Snake Eyes eased his hand out to grab the robe on the end of his bed and threw it around his shoulders, covering his cold body with the warm silk. He followed Timber down to the bottom floor and unarmed the security systems (since the security patrol wasn't here yet, it was still 5 am after all. The sky was barely giving off a darkened light from beyond the horizon, indicating that the dawn was edging its way into the morning. As Timber went out onto the grounds to heed natures call, Snake Eyes felt another large, furry creature brush past his leg. He looked down to see the tiger nuzzling his thigh, giving as much of a big cat's purr as possible as she padded her way past the black clad man to follow her canine companion.

Snake Eyes chuckled as he closed the door behind them and allowed the two sometime outside. With curiosity peeking, he decided to wander back upstairs to see if Tommy was getting ready for the day (or just snoozing in at this hour).

At the entrance to the normally white clad man's room, all was quiet. The darkened hallway gave Snake Eyes all the cover he needed to sneak up to doorway. He heard a moan of what seemed to be pain coming from the room. In fear, he gently nudged the cracked door open further with his hand, peering in to see the slightly older man's bed ruffled. Storm Shadow was on the bed, apparently on his back and doing…something…

Snake Eyes stared as he saw his friends hand move down his stomach, gently rubbing the well built muscles up and down, stimulating every nerve receptor on the way to his abdomen. Snake Eyes couldn't help but notice that the man was… devoid of a shirt… and his pants seemed to have made it to the cold floor. As he watched he remained silent, not wanting to have to either find an excuse to why he was watching his friend at this hour of the morning, or why he was quite frankly enjoying everything he was seeing… less Tommy be mad and ask him to leave.

Storm Shadow kicked off what remained of the covers, taking him member into his hand and gently stroking it. Once, twice, up and down, repetitive motions that gave the man so much pleasure at the thought of his sword brother being at the end of his cock rather than his hand. He dreamed of Snake Eyes hands running up and down his length, slowly picking up pace as the blonde man licked his cock up one side and engulfed the heavy member in his mouth. He dreamed that the slightly younger man moaned with a light giggle as he began to suck, slowly going up and down with rhythmic precision. Tommy moaned at the thought as he grabbed the sheets beneath him, crying out in heated lust as rubbed he himself.

Snake Eyes could only watch as his best friend tensed underneath his own hand. He watched as the muscular build flexed and trembled with tense lust. Oh how he wanted to be in that bed right now… holding that man as he allowed himself to be mounted, kissing his love as he cried out… laying beside him as they cuddled in the afterglow. However, he silently knew that Tommy was fantasizing about a firm breasted woman with curves rather than the blonde man that was currently crouching by the doorway, perversely watching his friend jack off.

Storm Shadow moaned again, feeling his pressure building. He wanted to see Snake Eyes so badly, he couldn't bear it.

Snake Eyes couldn't deal with the depression anymore, and swiftly repelled off to check on Timber and the cat. Just as he turned to leave, he heard a strangled cry-

"Snakes!" Tommy roared as his lust overcame his hands, pouring his milky seed onto the bed and his own fingers. He relaxed his body as his heartbeat thundered in his ears, thinking of his love resting in the next room. He thanked fate that the younger man had not heard him…

Snake Eyes shot down the stairs, making sure not to make any sounds as he did so. He feared that Storm Shadow had heard him and was enraged that he had been viewing the older man's show.

His thoughts were broken as Timber ran back into the house, tail tucked roughly between his legs while the tiger followed him. As Timber took refuge in the shelter of the black clad man's legs, the tiger purred and brushed against both of them, making Timber yelp in surprise. Snake Eyes smiled and placed a calming hand on the wolf's ears. He rubbed the soft ears gently and then placed his free hand around the back of the wolf's body, pushing him forward while holding him tightly. The tiger padded her way towards the two wolves (1) and sat before them. Timber growled, but Snake Eyes placed his fingers on the wolf's nose as a sign of silence. Timber stopped growling and gently cuddled next to Snake Eyes. The tiger moved in, gently giving Timber a single kiss on the side of his cheek, to which the wolf didn't move at first. Once he regained his composure, and realized Snake Eyes was fine with the large predator doing this, he relaxed and leaned forward to sniff the white and black cat.

-Hum... if that's all it took for them… perhaps I can use this method to my advantage…- Snake Eyes thought to himself. Just as he was enwrapped in his thoughts, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Storm Shadow was up.

"Snakes! You're awake. Wonderful!" He said, placing a free arm around the black clad man's shoulders and leading him towards the kitchen.

* * *

Duke was settling into life at the newly revised White House. Once the affairs of the world had been dealt with, a fair amount of the rush around the various assemblies had taken a serious decline. There was no war, no hate, no disease (well… as far as basic immunizations could take care of), no hunger- almost everything that was worth fighting for had been rectified.

So it only made sense that since his favorite mad man was running the show, he'd get to live in the lap of luxury, so proven by his current appearance- shirtless, loose pants, and playing video games while lounging underneath the warm covers of the bed. He'd joined Rex for breakfast at 6 am, but afterwards Rex went off to his meetings and Duke went back to his Assassin's Creed III.

Given things on the outside world had calmed down, but Duke still harbored a feeling of insecurity… like someone or something was still upset over the recent shift in power, and was planning some kind of revenge. Duke knew that Rex promised him safety here, but he was still fearful no matter how things were sliced. He would do anything to protect the things he loved, which included the mad man, but if anyone messed with his family, there would be blood.

Just as Duke thought that, Rex came into the room, narrowly missing the stretched out cords. He really needed to go wireless with these things…

"Duke, you wanna go to lunch?" Rex asked him, sounding like his old self. Duke shot up in his place, shoving the covers off with a happy smirk as he grabbed the man and pulled him down onto the bed.

"Well, I'd love to go out with you… but I'd also like to stay in with you…" He growled into the other man's ear, enticing the mad man to raise his hands up to the shirtless man's face, gently running his fingers up both sides at the same time. Rex growled, making Duke smile.

"Oh my, what a horny beast I have… what oh what should I do…" the blonde man asked, gently running a finger down the muscled chest of the Commander.

"Duke… Duke stop… I can't… I'm restrained by time…" he whispered as he pulled them both up, handing a shirt to Duke. Duke pouted cutely, making Rex that much needier to pin him to the bed and ravage him.

"Come now, let's get lunch. I won't have my day derailed by a hard on." Rex said, trying to keep things going, and very disappointed in himself for not pinning the other man to the bed and ravaging his well sculpted ass.

* * *

The Baroness was having a hellish day.

And that was putting it lightly. Since her escapades with William, she had been vomiting every morning for the past two weeks. Now, she was certain she was pregnant, but she didn't want him to figure that out quite yet. If he did, he might try to convince her to get rid of it. But Ana wasn't a woman of compromise when it came to children. She had wanted them since she was a little girl, and no one, not even her husband, was going to stop her by this point.

So as she heaved over the porcelain throne once again, she thought to herself what names she wanted to bestow her infant with. And how to tell Destro that he would be a daddy.

…exactly how would he deal with it?

After all, he said no children right now… was there something that he wasn't telling her that might place her back in the line of fire? After all, he had said something about heirs sometime ago, so why wouldn't he want children? Maybe it was just a guy thing…

"Ana?" Destro's heavy voice said from outside the bathroom. She sat up and flushed the toilet once again, and heard the door open in response.

"Ana… are you feeling ok now?" He asked, concerned about his lover. She smiled at him and gently took his thick hands in her tiny fingers.

"I think so, maybe I just ate something that didn't agree with me." She said, smiling humbly to try to convince him of her innocence. He chuckled as though he knew something…

"Nice try my dear… but I think I know what's going on here…" He said, gently lifting the light woman into his strong arms and carrying her back to bed.

"I'll call a doctor to confirm it, but you rest. Your body knows what it is doing, and I won't have you overexerting yourself in this state." Destro remarked, smiling as he place a kiss on her forehead.

Ana felt a wave of fear wash over her, followed by a kind breeze of relaxation as she felt his lips press themselves on her forehead. He knew? Why didn't he say anything before?

"Stay here." He said, leaving the room as he headed off to the command center in the bottom of his house. Destro liked having his work neatly placed as the basements 2 through 5 on his mansion, it made life so much easier. So as Ana rested her head, he would work until he received conformation.

"Medics, I need a doctor to my bedroom. Check on Ana, she's not feeling well. Find out -exactly- what is making her sick." He said sternly as he stormed off to the underground military base.

* * *

Snake Eyes was bored to death. And when Snake Eyes was bored, he was a curious little ninja. Currently, he was trying to sneak around Storm Shadow's house in a strangely fun attempt to uncover something new about the white clad man while they were supporting the massive distance between each other in their quests to figure out who killed Hard Master respectively. Given that the house was huge, Snake Eyes had a ton of questions that he wanted answered, but felt like it wasn't his place to ask Storm Shadow. After all… if the white clad man had taken the time to hide these things, he clearly didn't want them found.

So as the black clad man tiptoed his way to the small home theatre, he steeled himself for the worst case scenario. He wanted to know what was under that sheet in the DVD stacks…was it snuff films? Films of the extensive tortures they placed people under when they wanted information and the prisoners wouldn't cooperate? Perhaps it was old home videos? Or maybe even just some old videos of Storm Shadow doing something embarrassing…

Once he arrived at the room, he slid into the doorway and shut the framed wood silently. He crouched down beside the table that held all of the DVD's for now, Storm Shadow hadn't had time to find the right style of shelf to fit the room. As he carefully lifted the cloth, looking behind his shoulder once to make sure no one was looking-

Footsteps came up the stairs quickly, throwing Snake Eyes into a flurry. Of movement as he got out of the home theatre and flew back to the library, where he was certain that no one would suspect him of wandering.

The white clad man entered the library and saw that Snake Eyes was contently resting on a large sofa, reading a comic book of all things. He had all the books in the world, some of which were red listed on various continents for being 'too controversial' or 'too disturbing', and here the younger man was reading a comic book… oh no wonder Storm Shadow couldn't take him yet.. he was so innocent.

"Snake Eyes, what have you been up to?" Storm Shadow asked as he placed his arms around the younger man's shoulders. Snake Eyes smiled at him as he sat up to meet the older man's eyes.

"Tommy…" He whispered, still getting use to using his vestibule and vocal folds once again. Despite the gritty, grinding sound of the voice, Storm Shadow smiled at the fact his friend had healed from his mistake… to which Storm Shadow still felt terrible about. Snake Eyes was not suppose to get hurt… he was suppose to stay back, suppose to be safe… instead his bravery cost him his voice. And what was worse, Storm Shadow was still unsure of exactly who to blame for the assassination mishap. True, he had made the deal with Cobra to kill his Hard Master, but there was more behind just gaining power in the clan…

Hard Master had been diagnosed with stage 3 cancer 2 years prior to Snake Eyes arrival. The doctors had tried chemotherapy, but it had done virtually nothing but cause Hard Master more pain. As a result, he stopped the therapy altogether, and moved back to the training island after quitting his office job under the Arashikage's major corporation building (it was a family business to say the least… and to get a spot at the top, you had to have undergone at least 4 ears of martial arts training under the family's instruction). He took over the training of the younger Arashikage, and a year and a half later, Snake Eyes came to them. Where the doctors had only given the Arashikage master 3 years to live, he actually became happier when Snake Eyes came to them, and managed to live 4 years happily on the island with the young men training. Something about Snake Eyes made Hard Master laugh more, until the cancer came back with a vengeance. In the last year, Hard Master started to slow down, and he was planning on quitting training. Unfortunately, he said that Snake Eyes was destined to go with him wherever he went… and Tommy was ordered to stay away from him because he was 'interfering with Snake Eyes training'. Tommy wasn't going to stand being forbidden to interact with his best friend, and- with anger- contacted the young organization Cobra that evening. Within two days, Zartan was meeting him at night by the docks, and by afternoon, the mercenary was perched in the gazebo with his sniper rifle. That day Tommy Arashikage became Storm Shadow, and Snake Eyes turned to the Joes.

…If he could reverse time, he would. However, Tommy was human… and it had taken a war and an unwilling capture to bring Snake Eye back to him. Now all he had to do was regain his trust… and tell him the truth about Hard Master...

…it might be easier to give a bull elephant in musk a root canal without anesthesia while balancing over hot coals with rabid dogs attacking him.

Storm Shadow reached down carefully and brushed the younger man's hair out of his eyes as the younger man sat up. Snake Eyes tried to keep the most humble smile for the man that always came to see him at lunch time. He had to admit, it was endearing and rather cute, not mention Timber and Taiga (2) were always pleased to see the white clad man coming back from the 'war room' as Snake Eyes considered it. So when h came up from the room, Snake Eyes was always glad to indulge him in whatever the surprisingly gentle man (at least over the last few weeks) wanted.

"Do tell me, have they behaved for you?" Tommy asked, Snake Eyes knowig exactly what he meant. Timber and Taiga had been relatively good that morning, Timber had even allowed the large cat to brush against him after Storm Shadow had left without so much as a a yelp.

"Good" the black robed man replied. It was nearing the winter months in Japan, and despite his normal attire, Snake Eyes hated to waste energy on heating during the day when you could just throw on a sweater or a robe to increase warmth without expending money. Tommy was well aware of this, because he was the same way. He hated to waste money on such a extravagant expenditure when one could take a much cheaper, more efferent and less taxing approach through an investment of a piece of clothing. Growing up on the island had taught them not try not to waste or want things that are just not going to last. People and love would last, material possessions and extravagant purchases would not last for long… the only reason Storm Shadow had purchased the large mansion with everything a man could want in it… well, he didn't want Snake Eyes to feel uncomfortable… and he didn't want him to leave. Given he had a slight fear that Snake Eyes would like to venture off to college someday, he was trying his best to make peace with that thought… after all- Snake Eyes was his own person… and an education cannot be taken away from you.

…he would have to talk to the younger man about commuting with an escort then. Because Storm Shadow wouldn't even dream of spending a night without Snake Eyes beside him… even if he was currently residing in the other top floor room.

"Are you getting hungry?" The white clad man asked, wanting nothing more than to grab the younger man and confess his love to the beautiful brat. Oh what he would give to find that courage in his throat right now.

"Uh-huh!" The black robed man croaked, gently dropping his comic and grabbing the other man's shirt sleeve lightly. Storm Shadow was finding it hard to hold back the urge to ravish the younger beauty. His mind wandered around in the thoughts that normally plagued his mind late at night when he was alone and dreaming of the younger man, thinking of throwing himself onto the younger man as he kissed his neck, nipped at his ears and shredded his shirt.

"Booff" A sudden woof came from Timber, who interrupted the two ninjas in their movements, making Snake Eyes jump slightly as the canine wagged his tail and gave a dog like whine of happiness. Tiaga was right behind him, giving as much of a tiger's purr as she could. Storm Shadow rose up from his slightly crouched position as he took the younger man's hand in his own and pulled him upwards.

"Your call, what would you like?" Storm Shadow asked, leading the black clad man into the living room. With Snake Eyes so relaxed, he couldn't be tense himself.

Timber walked with Tiaga for the first time since she'd arrived, side by side and not panicking.

* * *

1) Snake Eyes has been referred to as a 'lone wolf' in many verses, mostly because he left the Arashikage and keeps his distance from the rest of the Joes in most of the universes. I just played on that.

2) Gryphaena came up with Tiaga! So she gets the credit for the kitty's name!

* * *

Blooper! (Why? Cuz I f-ing need it… it's been a bad day month…)

Rex was tired of being sick. Since Duke had returned, they had enjoyed one day of bliss together, and the next morning Rex started to feel the oncoming cold. That evening he had come in and collapsed on the bed beside a game enwrapped Duke, who offered him a warm blanket while pulling him under the board shouldered man's chin.

"How are you feeling Rex?" Duke asked, gently running a finger down the newly restored scalp (he was starting to see the benefits of what nanomites where intended for originally).

Rex could only mumble his exhaustion and gently snuggled himself up to the warm body. Duke met his movements with a large, muscular arm pulling the other man close.

"Are you getting hungry?" Duke asked, gently rubbing the tense back of his love up and down. He hated to see the other man in such a pitiful state.

"Mmm…only for you…" Rex managed to get out. Duke chalked it up to the drugs talking… at least he HOPED it was the drugs talking. Letting out a small smile, he gently placed his arm under the other man's head and lifted him into his chest.

"After you stop throwing up we'll talk about it. Until then, you can just stay safe and warm here with me." Duke mumbled into the other man's ear, to which Rex gently pressed a kiss into the other man's muscular chest. Duke decided now was the best time to give Rex a present he had picked out earlier… just a little relaxer for the two of them.

Duke gently placed Rex down on the bed, sneaking out from the warmth of the covers with a silent nudge of his nose against the younger man's neck as a sign of 'I'll be right back'.

As he grabbed the squirming package, he made note not to give the snuffling ball of fur any more treats before bed, because it made him hyper. He gently placed the squirming ball underneath the sheets at the foot of the bed, watching as the young mammalian struggled to find the exit, but gladly found Rex's foot.

Rex nearly shot out of bed when the cold wet nose pressed against his foot, tearing off the covers to reveal a small, brown mutt of a dog. The young puppy wagged its tail, giving a small whinny as Duke climbed back into bed.

"I knew you wanted a pet… but I thought a shelter dog would be the best bet… he doesn't have a name yet… but I was going to ask you to pick one." Duke said as he pressed a kiss into the other man's smiling face as he picked up the puppy. Rex nuzzled the dog between their chests and kissed Duke on the mouth, then the puppy on his wiggling head.

"Duke… I don't know what to say… thank you…" Rex said, exhaustion pushing him back to the bed.

"I love you" Duke said, reciprocating another kiss as he pulled the covers over all three of them.

REVEIW PLEASEEEE! It keeps me sane in times of insanity... such as now... i blame college and my cell bio lab teacher (and human anatomy teacher unless my grade comes out fucking spectacular).


	9. Hissing Harmoniously

Caught by a Cobra

Chapter 9

Harmonious Hissing

…yeah… running out of serpent names. So… going to go with things related to snakes instead. I hate to give up on the idea, but let's face it there are only so many breeds of snakes.

Incidentally, there is no way I'm ever going to get into chemistry enough to actually care by this point. I fall into the middle class of the student body (meaning I hail from decent money, but not super rich or super poor) and frankly, as per usual: we don't matter. The teachers never taught us to actually study back in high school, and no one here cares if we fail. I'm doing my best, but apparently it's the same as high school- the top ten percent will ask for something: the teachers will shit out a statue of gold for them in their image. The bottom 90 percent? Yeah, ask for a worksheet and you will be laughed at, then told to leave.

MAJOR THANKS TO MY REVIEWERS!: Staceykat, Linuxgirl, rainaria, Gryphaena and all the rest I can't seem to find in my emails! 1000 cybercookies to each of you!

I do not own GI Joe. Just trying to make my life worthwhile by entertaining some people.

* * *

Storm Shadow had expected this day to go so well… and had Cobra Commander not called, it would have been a wonderful day indeed. He was awoken by Tiaga's nose nudging him awake and a tiny, hoarse giggle (yes, giggle) coming from the love of his life, who was leaning in on one arm with his pinky finger in his mouth while the other scratched the large feline's ears in approval. He could only smile at the younger man as he reached up and patted the larger cat on her ears and scratch her chin at the same time.

"What are you doing up this early?" Tommy asked. Snake Eyes smiled and sat down on the side of the bed, robe slipping away to reveal an uncovered chest (and no… Tommy 'didn't' notice that right away, or how smooth his skin seemed to be). The black robed man laid back and rested his head on Tommy's stomach while gazing up at him with larger, perfectly blue eyes.

"Breakfast?" He whispered hoarsely, trying to not fall asleep against the warmer man. Truth be told, he'd actually been woken by a certain canine that couldn't wait for his early morning bathroom run, and Taiga followed him as per usual. The cat was smart enough to open an unlocked door after she found out her large paws could press a handle down. Snake Eyes flipped over to run his hand down the slightly older man's curvature. Tommy moaned as he tried to pull Snake Eyes into the bed with him, meeting with no resistance as Snake Eyes collapsed on top of the slightly larger man. Tommy played it off as the sword brother's normal mischief- Tommy pulling Snakes into bed as he tried to gain a few extra minutes before the master came to wake them, Snakes pushing Tommy to go to bed earlier so they could play that night in the forest, Tommy sneaking meat so Snakes most recent pet could have something more to eat while they stored it in a spare room at the end of the dojo. Just like old times.

Tommy forced himself to get out of bed, standing up and stretching his sore muscles out from a goodnights sleep. He watched as Snakes got up from the bed and sauntered out of the room, leaving a dazed Tommy to stare at his perfect ass.

Shoving himself into the shower, Tommy turned on the hot water to rinse the night's crud from his body. He pushed his hands down his body, around his midriff and back up to his shoulders. The Arashikage heir then slid his hand down the front of his body, pressing his palm into the growing problem he was having. The thought of Snake Eyes doing this was more than enough to cause a slightly longer time in the shower. He loved it when Snakes talked to him in his newly restored voice, given it was hoarse and timid from years of inability to speak, Tommy thought it was nothing short of music to his ears. He wanted to hold that beautiful man's head as Snakes kissed down his face… and shoulders… and stomach… down to the thighs… Tommy would hold his head in place as Snakes took his manhood into his mouth, massaging the tip of it with his tongue. Tommy's fingers could do the work for now, but he wanted Snakes there… licking up and down the shaft, circling the head, and then running the tip of his nose under the man's cock just to press a kiss into the base. Oh what Tommy would have done to have Snake's listening to him right now! He let out a small moan as he started to pump, generating heat against his groin as he sped up. In his head, it was Snakes there, taking his whole member into his mouth at once and sucking, gently at first but then faster and faster-

And he came roughly with a stifled moan, hoping that the younger man didn't head him as he came onto his finger tips with the water running over him. He watched as the milky seed went down the drain, then pushed himself off the wall he had landed against at some point in his endeavors.

The black robed man outside the door couldn't help but notice that as Tommy's moans stifled themselves, he had a growing problem of his own. He rushed back downstairs and slid off his robe's front, taking his growing cock into his own hands in the privacy of the living room's shadowed area. He quickly started to pump, taking his time to run a finger through the slit at the top of the cock and appreciate the precum that had started to accumulate. He loved the feeling of the cock in his hands, stroking it slowly as he thought of Tommy above him. Oh that was a nice thought, the strong, dense muscles of the older man rubbing against his own, making sure that he was never untouched as skin went against skin all the way down to his groin. Tommy would be on top, there was no denying it. And Snake Eyes would gladly allow him to do whatever he wanted inside this house… this home. Yes… it was his home now…

That though alone made Snake Eyes relax so much that his boner disappeared quickly, leaving him with thoughts of cuddling with Tommy on their bed, resting his head on the older man's shoulder as he slept in a deep slumber after a long day of work. Maybe even… no. They were both males… even science couldn't defy that.

Footsteps coming down the stairs interrupted his thoughts, making him jump off the sofa he'd landed on and tie his front quickly. Tommy turned to look at the younger man, who was standing at attention with a big smile on his face.

* * *

Rex was not happy. He was not happy at all. He didn't like what he was seeing from the results of his information drive… and he hated to have to break it to Storm Shadow, but this had to end. He silently prayed that his survey was wrong… but it really didn't seem to be that way. All the information breaks had come from Japan, and frankly, from Storm Shadow's personal files. So, assuming that Storm Shadow didn't want to lose his free digs and his new position, there was only one person who could have been relaying messages to the resistance…

Snake Eyes.

Rex didn't want to believe it, and in truth feared what Duke was going to say to him when he broke the news to the lovely pet. Duke was decent friends with the black clad ninja, and Scarlett was bound to be pissed when she heard her former fiancé and friend was not only in trouble with the men that had spared his life, but had betrayed them to a resistance organization? Well, she'd be thrilled, and then pissed for him going to another _man_ when he could have had her instead. After all, she was an ideal woman! To which Rex couldn't argue, she did look good in that maid's outfit.

* * *

"Sir, may we have a word with you?" The policemen asked the white clad man who stood before them. Storm Shadow had taken the day off to have a wonderful time with Snake Eyes, and frankly found himself loving every second of the afternoon. They had spent the morning at the local amusement park, and Tommy managed to impress Snake Eyes with his control over his stomach on a few of the roller coasters. That afternoon they spent on the veranda of the local waterway on a riverside coffee shop patio, sipping tea and admiring the sunset to old tales of their childhood. So when they came home and flopped down on the sofa with a pizza and a good old fashioned movie, they didn't expect the doorbell to ring at nightfall.

"Ok…" Storm Shadow said as he tried to gather himself at the unwelcomed intrusion. The police officers gathered themselves and spoke.

"Cobra Commander called earlier, and told us to arrest Snake Eyes on suspicion of high treason against the new world order." The man said, causing Storm Shadow to turn to his potential lover and stifle a gasp. He closed the door partially for a moment, turning to Snake Eyes completely.

Tommy grabbed the younger man and pressed him against the wall carefully. He was still certain that he would hurt the man if he went overboard. Snake Eyes looked Tommy straight in the eye and tried to shake his head 'no', meeting Tommy's worried gaze. The accusation was absurd, Snake Eyes had no reason to help a resistance group! He didn't want to leave Tommy! He wanted to stay safe and sound where he belonged! He wanted to remain with Timber and Taiga, sleeping most of the day and not having to worry about the world or what was happening to it. Tommy had been more than kind to him, and frankly he was shocked when the police, or whatever they were called, came to their door this late in the day to tell them such a lie! He had never transferred any information to the resistance… Tommy had to believe him.

"You… no… Snake Eyes… You didn't… wouldn't have… Snakes?" Tommy whispered against the pinned man. Snake Eyes could only shake he head 'no' as he tried to hug Tommy, only to be met with the resistance of the larger man's hands holding his down. Tommy looked straight into Snake Eyes blue orbs and sighed.

"If you are truly innocent… the courts will say so. If not… I can't help you. Take him away…" Storm Shadow said as he let go of the younger man's wrists. Snake Eyes could only stand there and allow them to arrest him. Storm Shadow just walked away into the mansion without even looking back, fearing that if he did, he'd react to the sight before him and pounce on the police that came to his door, free Snake Eyes, and go on the run. To hell with Cobra! He just wanted to be with Snake Eyes after all these years… why was every force in the universe working against him? Was it so wrong to love the man you grew up beside and shared every moment, good or bad? But… if he was innocent… he'd be set free. And using the current power he had… Tommy could push the guards to keep him in a cell of his own with every luxury he wanted… and away from the assholes that would try to take advantage of such an attractive man like Snakes. And Tommy knew he was attractive, there was no doubt, after all the people (both men and women) that Tommy had to beat off of him in their early training years. He certainly wasn't going to allow some asshole of a prisoner take **his** prize before Tommy had a chance to court the lovely man.

The young heir to the Arashikage clan heard the heavy wood and steel (yes, steel, they are thoroughly reinforced in case anyone tried to steal from them in this area) bang shut as Timber whined and Taiga looked at the white clad man, shocked.

For the first time in the last 10 years, maybe even longer if his memory could recall anything before that, Tommy Arashikage let a single tear slip free of his stone façade.

Timber was the first to respond, jumping up on the sofa with the white clad man as he sat down and placed his hand over his eyes in a frugal attempt to stop the flow, only to be met with a long pink tongue at his cheek and whimpering. Tiaga soon joined in, jumping up on the perfectly treated leather sofa (1), and placing her massive paw on his leg. She didn't know how else to comfort the man, who was clearly holding back a lot.

_Snake Eyes, betray the kindness he was shown by Cobra Commander? Go against the Arashikage heir to pass information to a tiny resistance group? No… it just couldn't be. He'd have Snakes back in a few days… yeah. Just keep believing it… the justice system would prevail. Even if he had to pull some strings it would prevail. _

Tommy couldn't handle these emotions, and chose to head to an early bed. He lead the two lost pets upstairs and motioned for Timber to follow when he tried to go to Snake Eyes room. The canine looked so sad when he was told to leave his master's room for the night, but quickly wagged his tail as best as he could when Tommy's hand met his ears. Taiga tried to comfort her friend by giving him a lick to the side of the muzzle. Tommy admired the kind act from the cat, hoping that he could mimic the act with Snake Eyes soon.

Tommy threw himself into the shower with the water running extremely hot to wash off the stress of the day. He wanted to lose himself in a mindlessly destructive videogame, tell the world to fuck itself, and steal back Snake Eyes on a drunken assault on the police station. He couldn't help but scrub himself hard as he tried to get the feeling of violation of his skin. Those bastards came into **his** home and took **his** lover from hi-

Wait… he just called Snake Eyes his lover.

…He just called Snake Eyes his _**lover**_.

And it felt right.

It felt so friggin' right!

Tommy tried to stand up from his position leaning against the wall of the shower, which he must have slid against at some point in his inner musing. He found his muscles sore and his legs stiff as tree limbs, and an unfortunate back pain that accompanied it was attempted to be ignored.

He shoved himself out of the granite shower and dried just enough to go back to his room and throw himself on the bed where Timber and Taiga were already curled up together and looking at the man. He lifted a hand to pet the two separately, smirking as he tried to pray that Snake Eyes would be ok.

* * *

Ok, filler chapter is crap… my personal depression (which is now looking like my anemia may be back in full force) isn't helping… sorry guys. I can only say expect an update about every two weeks? I hope I can get more time than that, but I won't make promises. If you are bored though- go look up my other fictions and read them slowly. Find me where the Heatrt lays will get updated about as much. So enjoy, read and review. And thank you to my reviews- especially Cassie who brought my attention back to one of my true loves.


	10. Emprisoned Empathy

Caught by a Cobra

Chapter 10

Winners! Lady Labrat, Linuxgirl, warriorchick and fan girl 666! (if I forgot anyone, I'm sorry, but it's not in my emails… please let me know and I'll add you here. Promise!) 1000 cybercookies for each of you!

I don't own GI Joe, I'm just playing with our favorite ninjas.

Ok, on Deviant Art I'm AuroraBluewolf. Look me up for some awesome news and polls that pertain to the stories occasionally. I'm also offering reward for my 4000th hit. It's been a long week and I've had to study for a lot of test before spring break. So here's one chapter of updates, the next one will hopefully be up before the end of this week. I take requests for bloopers (and will put them in the fanfics, I promise –assuming I can find the requests-)

* * *

Less than a minute into the prison, Snake Eyes could tell he hated it here. He wanted to be home, with Timber and Taiga, and wrapped in Storm Shadow's arms… despite the fact he knew that the older man wouldn't accept his feelings. But as he was pushed into the changing room, he couldn't help but notice that some of the men were eyeing him with clearly lust filled looks. He wanted to go home so badly.

Snake Eyes walked out of the changing room in his blue prison outfit, making him feel even more out of place than normal. They wouldn't even allow the man to keep his mask, making him feel naked as the day he was born. He managed to make it through the entrance process without much hassle, but once the guards started to lead him to the cell he'd call home for a few days (certainly Storm Shadow called to make sure he at least had a single cell!), he felt that the few lewd catcalls that seemed to echo through the joint like a cave, and frankly- he didn't really appreciate them. He tried to keep his head clear as he was escorted to the cell, making sure that he didn't lash out at the grabbing hands that seemed to make their way towards his crotch as he tried to avoid them. Certainly if Storm Shadow knew about this, he would have their heads just to trying to grope his best friend.

As Snake Eyes sat on the bed and noted the time of night (about 1 a.m. by this point) he turned off the lights in the house and tried to focus on the facts at hand: he was stuck in a cell until Tommy cleared his name, had left his family as willingly as possible, and he was sitting alone in a cold cell (in his opinion, it was actually pretty warm in the prison… probably from all the physical action that was going on despite the hour of night). So he did what anyone alone and cold would do: he turned off the lights, grabbed his blankets, curled into the slowly warming sheets, and tucked his pillow around his shoulder and back. It felt like an embrace… like Tommy's embrace. If he had to spend a few nights here alone, at least he would give himself the pleasure of having the feeling of someone else's arms around shivering shoulders. The cotton filled pillow was slowly warming up too, which made Snake Eyes shoulders relax as he slid down the wall he had pinned himself against and nuzzled into the warm fluff. He shut his eyes and tried to focus on the world around him fading away into just him and Tommy… just him and Tommy… together… no one else around… lost in a bright fog that seemed to establish itself in his dreams… holding each other as Tommy placed kiss after sweet kiss on Snake Eyes brow, taking in his scent in between the light presses of his lips. And Snake Eyes just stood there, taking it with the utmost joy as he tried to hold in his lover. He gripped the older man's shirt with fear of losing him, trying his best to just hold onto the one thing in the world he didn't want to lose. He could practically hear Tommy's voice in his ear, whispering sweet words of comfort and calming nature to the younger man while running his battle worn hands down the younger man's spine. And those thoughts carried Snake Eyes into his sleep.

* * *

4 AM

Four… fucking… a…m…

Thomas hated the clock right now. It was just mocking him in his restlessness. Telling him that 'yes, you have been awake for 5 hours now, and no, you will not be going to sleep'. He wanted to sleep so badly too… only in his sleep was Snake Eyes his. Only in his sleep were they married and had started a family. Only in his sleep were they able to share a bed without the imbeciles of the world retaliating against their love. And only in his dreams was he able to synthesize the cries of his love as the younger man laid beneath him in his desires.

But here he lay, awake with two large pets huddled around him. Timber was having a fitful night, awakening every three or four minutes for the first portion of the night, then settling in to only awake every hour or so. Taiga was probably the only one dealing with the situation perfectly. She offered comfort in her cat like ways, then immediately settled down with a massive paw on both Timber and Tommy. It seemed to comfort Timber more than Thomas, but at least he knew that both of the furry creatures were alive and with him…

Tommy had actually pulled the curtains tightly against the Sunday morning light that was sure to awaken him. Normally he would love to get up at the crack of dawn to watch his lover sleep for a few minutes at least before he managed to awaken. Snake Eyes was one of the few men left in the world that could appreciate the dullness of a overcast morning sky, and let himself sleep in while dreaming.

Frankly, Tommy loved to dream. Dreams meant the world couldn't get to him. Dreaming meant that no one could touch you if you didn't want them to. Dreaming meant anything could happen with or without the annoyance of the life bastards interrupting the course of the world. His world. …Snake Eyes. He couldn't deny it- Snake Eyes was his entire world. If anything happened to the man while he was in that hell hole he'd find the bastard who touched the man, slice his balls off, force him to eat them, and then take the pleasure of tying him up while stabbing him repeatedly just for touching his Snakes.

And the thoughts of the younger man sleeping alone (or god forbid after the call he'd made to the idiots at the prison, another man)in that cold cell. Thinking about Timber and maybe even allowing his thoughts to wander to Tommy… though he highly doubted it. Snake Eyes was a good man, and Storm Shadow wouldn't hear a word of negotiations if anything bad happened to him. And he knew what went on in the prison showers! Oh he would love to throw all the other morons out of that steamy room and slide right up to Snakes… take his member in his hands, gently rubbing the tip while running his other hand up the gorgeous man's stomach… kiss his neck a little… yeah…. Then he turn the other man around as he gently pressed him to the wall, kissing those now perfect lips with every ounce of strength he had. And Snakes would respond with just as much passion as he wrapped his arms around Tommy's neck, pulling him tightly against his front while the heir's hands wandered up and down the younger man's sides, stimulating each nerve ending available. Snakes would moan into his touches, running his hands up the older man's neck and into his onyx hair, making sure to rub the other man's hair in circle just to feel his warmth. Tommy would pull the younger man's legs up around his waist and gently use his body to keep the younger man pinned against the wall. Snakes would keep kissing him this entire time, while Tommy gently started to-

*WOOF*

…damn you Timber…

Damn you to hell.

The canine jumped up on the Arashikage heir and started whining. He had to go out. Taiga was up as well and staring at her master with the 'I got to go' look. Tommy sighed, waiting for only a moment with his wrist held up to his forehead and his other hand below the sheets as his hard-on disappeared quickly. Pets are such mood killers.

"…You know… I can't wait 'til Snakes is back… because the longer I have to deal with you two interrupting my 'me' time… the shorter my patience will get." Tommy said as he pushed himself up to reach out both his warm and cool hands to scratch the furry creatures' ears. Taiga growled affectionately as Timber tried to lick the man's hand… just like he did with Snake Eyes. It was practically like they expected the world to be fine. Truth be told, Tommy didn't know what the immediate future held… and it scared him. He feared that Snake Eyes would be found guilty of a crime he didn't commit. He… might even be killed for treason under Cobra Commander's new regime. He wanted to save Snakes! He wanted to storm the prison, wrap his arms around the man, and then blaze out of there in a hellfire of bullets and sword slashes!

…but for now… all he could do within his power was to pray (and pull a few strings with the prison to treat the man well).

* * *

Rex was still healing after his last bout with Scarlett. The woman was royally pissed off that he had imprisoned her best friend in the world, and of all the ignorant, dumbass things to do- e lied to her about it for three whole days! Ok, well not lied to her face, but not told her, which was just the same to her. Her best friend was in prison for a (most likely false) accusation of treason! And then there was that bit about how he'd been shacking up with Storm Shadow (like she believed that) and then brought Timber and a white tiger (oh yeah, right, ninjas had to have the wild animals as pets!) to Storm Shadow's new mansion in the forest of Japan. (1) Well, given that he had forced her to wear a French maids outfit (ok he was thinking that if Duke didn't relax and let him into his pants, the redhead would be fun to play with… yeah… he's a perv… but you saw that coming) and asked her to clean the main house (where they spent their time). He had to admit, she looked better in the skirt than he had even imagined. It accentuated her curves perfectly.

But aside from Scarlett's anger, Duke had become increasingly depressed at the idea of Snake Eyes in prison for treason. One had to think that the man understood what was going on, but it saddened Rex to watch the love of his life sit in bed for nearly two hours each day with the dog (who still had yet to get a real name) huddled in his lap as he stared off into space, clearly lost in thought. Rex really wanted to make Duke happy and get the ninja off without much more than a slap on the wrist if he did something… but his leadership would be compromised. He had told Storm Shadow to keep looking around his house to find anything that would set the young man free- a tracking device, a recording device, anything! There had to be something that was telling the rebels what they were thinking… something like a communication device. Certainly the white clad ninja would have noticed through the security cameras that he had installed throughout the mansion if Snake Eyes was meeting with someone or something to relay information. Hell, even when Cobra Commander was looking through the videos himself, he couldn't believe that the once great Snake Eyes was getting used to just sitting around all day, sleeping and eating lunch with Storm Shadow while enjoying the freedoms of… well, a house wife. The man that could once fell hundreds of Cobra soldiers if allowed to was settling into the domestic life like a key to a lock, and frankly, it disturbed Cobra Commander to think how many times he had watched the man polish the infamous swords. And the movements he kept while polishing them wasn't innocent either. Hell, if one watched closely enough, they could easily see that he seemed to mimic the hand motions of a lover when addressing the swords… perhaps it was just Rex's perverse mind coming into play, but it –looked- like he was practically giving the damn steel a hand job! And he did it always right before and after lunch with Storm Shadow! And again if the man came up to check on him during the working hours. It was annoyingly hot…

Rex managed to sneak out a little early this fine, dreary, cool, overcast day, and went straight to his bed chambers to see Duke. He nudged the door open as he arrived, trying not to scare the other man as he entered. The sight the greeted him was adorable to say the least…

Duke and the dog had managed to snuggle underneath the covers with the windows open to the outside world, a slight breeze establishing itself in the room, and the light grey of the world at its calmest pouring into the darkened room. Duke was still fully clothed as far as he could see, and Rex took a moment to pull out his camera and snap a picture with the shudder sound off. He wanted that image to be with him at all times so he could see it when he was stressed out… just to remember exactly was he was fighting for. Well… 'fought' would be a better word here…

"Duke… Duke…" He said lightly, taking asset beside the other man as he rested. He really didn't want to wake him, but he had to know if he was feeling any better. Duke's perfectly blue eyes opened in a sleepy fog as he turned to Rex and placed his languid hand against the former commander's outstretched digits. Rex gently lifted the hand to his lips and kissed. Duke smiled at the motion, allowing the gentle touch of the lips to caress his hand as he laid his head back down. Rex smiled at the serene sight and took his place at the other side of the bed, kicking off his boots as he slid under the sheets and against the rather soft dog. He was glad they got a dog. And a very nice dog indeed, one that wouldn't wake you at night, and when he wanted something, he would gently prod his big wet nose against your shoulder to wake you, not your face. Rex liked the dog… but he really needed a permanent name. They had gone through a few days of guessing which name would be the best for him… and just hadn't settled on one yet.

"…Hey Rex?" Duke murmured as he wrapped his warm hand around the other man's exposed palm. Rex responded by closing his hand around the digits and smiling as he allowed his eyes to shut in a dozing state.

"Yeah Duke?" He asked. Duke shifted himself up on the bed and brought the former commander's hand to his face, gently pressing his cheek against it.

"Any news about Snakes today?" Duke nuzzled against the other man's hand, trying to take in his scent as much as possible. Rex smiled sadly and pulled the hand from his grasp, and pushed it further south on the man's body, taking Duke's waist in his hand as he tried to pull him closer without hurting the man.

"Unfortunately no… I asked Thomas to keep checking his house though… hopefully something will turn up before we have to give a death sentence…" Rex sighed, letting his shoulders drop in defeat. Duke shifted uncomfortably.

"But… you don't have to _give_ a death sentence at all… you could just let him go with a warning…" Duke said roughly, making Rex open his eyes in surprise of the gruffness of his voice.

"I would if a could… but even by the constitutions on both countries that were in place a long time before we were born, I can't let this go. It's treason. It's the only, and I do mean only, crime punishable by the law without question…" Rex said, sadly looking at Duke with open eyes. Duke only responded with an aggressive, yet saddened, sigh. Rex gripped the other man's shoulder tightly (but not enough to bruise) to get his attention again.

"Look, if they even find an oddball screw that fell off a chair in Storm Shadow's desk, I'll declare it a microphone recording device and let him go. I don't like seeing Scarlett or you upset… and I certainly hate making my closest friends mad… so if Storm Shadow can find _–anything-_ that would be a hint to who's trying to get information, I'd let Snakes go… but he won't die. I promise… I'll do anything in my power to make sure he's ok. Though… can't really promise what's going to happen in prison, in all fairness." Rex said, pulling the other man into his lap and holding his head against his chest. Duke was actually quite surprised in the motion and placed his palm on the other man's shoulder for a moment, then threw himself into a hug. Rex looked down at the man and saw the first smile he'd seen on him in days. He was getting worried that Duke might really be upset about this, so seeing him smile was a huge step in the right direction. And it was true, he'd honor anything they could find by this point. It seemed to be upsetting anyone that was involved with the obviously blossoming couple. He actually found it cute how Storm Shadow tried to cover it up, then let his emotions loose at the end of each night under his covers while whispering Snake Eyes name (and yes, the security cameras they had really underscored the language that was said late at night, and you could hear whispers clear as a bell on those things).

* * *

Snake Eyes was not enjoying this morning to say the least. So far, he'd had his butt pinched twice, groped five times and a kiss stolen in the first fifteen minutes of walking around. Of all the things to do, that was not the right one when dealing with a well trained ninja. Needless to say, he flipped the asshole that stole the kiss right off the balcony of the prison's inner walls, and gave the other men a swift jab to the ribs. It wasn't intended to harm, but he had been out of practice for over a month total. But at the same time, Storm Shadow didn't really want him exercising on meds. Drugged out men and heavy machinery rarely mixed with a positive outcome.

So as he tried to dodge his way back to his room after lunch, he found himself pinned against the wall by a massive man. He tried to pull from his captors grasp with all the strength he had, but only managed to twist his wrist painfully against the stronger man's grasp.

"Aww… trying to escape from me little one?" He asked, leaning down to the younger man's neck and licking, yeah- licking, his neck slowly. Snake Eyes felt the bile rise in his throat while he tried to wriggle out of his grasp. The man's huge paw went down to his standard issue prison clothing and tried to pull away the offensive cloth.

Snake Eyes, not enjoying this treatment one bit, did the only thing he could do-

He decided to risk the 'man code' and swiftly kicked the moron in the groin.

It worked, and Snake Eyes was dropped promptly to run back to his cell and hide under the bed while the guards dealt with the howling moron.

"YEHHHH! YOU LITTLE FUCKER! I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT!"

…and despite the laugh that slipped from Snake Eyes lips, he still felt so empty sitting here in this damned cell while Tommy was alone in that big, empty mansion.

* * *

Ok, Sorry for the late update, It's been a long week and my compy caught a cold that I had to spend a whole night fixing. SO Read, Review, laugh and love… but seriously review please.


	11. What's This?

Caught By a Cobra

Chapter 11

Rant ahead- ignore please-

Rough weekend… dad yelled at me for his affair. W…t….f… he's seriously trying to blame me for his choices of cheating on my mother? Looking back… should have let them divorce. I can't keep this crap up. And he wanted me to move out of the house in which I'm the primary caregiver of the pets and practically play 'maid' to every mess this jerk makes. So yeah, I leave, and there's a very good chance I won't have a house to return to by the time he hoards his way into TLC's shows. God I'm so embarrassed about the way he lives… and the sheer amount of energy to return the chaos of their messes back to order… it's a wonder why I'm still barely overweight (it's only like… 10 pounds based on the BMI now… which means I'm probably ok by today's standards. Bear in mind, the BMI was created way back in ye olden days when people lacked basic nutrition, and had extremely fragile bones that lacked calcium and therefore lacked density. They also had parasites, yes, parasites, that would keep them on the verge of starvation. So, yeah… when you look at the BMI, add about 10 pounds for a female and 15 pounds for a male- that gives you your closest estimation of what you should weigh.) And he tried to criticize me for not being able to find a part time job that went with my current schedule! Well sorry if the economy still reeks of destruction, but the part time jobs that I found were all specialized for truck drivers and were meant for days of work away from here!

Sorry… needed to rant.

I do not own GI Joe, but I am taking them for a spin. Enjoy.

Winners! (Not Charlie Sheen) Linuxgirl, fan girl 666, xxliquidrainbowxx! Congrats!

Now I should be doing homework, so if I don't reply for a while… don't be surprised. It may have to take a few weeks to get through this stuff… hard Stats stuff. Hate stats. Hate Organic. Hating everything about school except for Marine Biology and art. And I'm not even in an art class this semester! Uggg… pray I pass please.

* * *

Snake Eyes was getting tired of this place fast. The meals were ok, despite what the rumors said about it being horse meat in the protein portion, and the cell mates weren't bad, but they were not really around either. When they were around, they were sleeping.

Incidentally, Snake Eyes realized why people got prison jobs… there was NOTHING to do. Apparently (thanks to the smell…) most of the men spent their days masturbating, painting, masturbating, cheering for small bets between the other men, masturbating more, watching pirated porn and movies, and sleeping. That was about it. You could read, but that only made Snake Eyes sleepy, so what was the point. You could try to spare, but that was considered 'violence', and was quickly dispelled by the guards. So poor Snake Eyes was bored out of his normally well stimulated mind… and frankly was daydreaming of Tommy… so the most favored option of prison life was happily explored.

* * *

Tommy made his way towards the prison, refusing the judge's orders of not to go (he was the friggin' emperor1 He'd do whatever he damn well please!). He needed to see Snake Eyes and verify with his own eyes that the other man was ok. Normally he would have believed a man was ok based entirely on his word and nothing more… but this was Snake Eyes. He wasn't some lackey that could be easily replaced even if he was lost, and he wasn't someone he was told to retrieve based on some asinine order from the Commander… so Tommy went to invest the time and energy away from work (like he really cared about the hell hole when Snakes was away) to see Snakes and waste as much time as he could.

He pulled up to the prison and jumped out of the chauffeured car, barely acknowledging the guards who tried to hold him back. They barely made a grab for him before they realized who he was and stopped. No one interrupted the Emperor. Not even the guards. But in all fairness, the Emperor rarely ever broke the rules, and he –technically- had every right to visit any prisoner he wanted… including the rumored lover.

Needless to say, the second the media caught wind of the new Emperor eloping with his supposed masked lover to the middle of nowhere and running the empire from a computer data center in his basement, they started camping out in the bushes just to get a glimpse of what the two may have been doing. And that lasted a total of a week before Storm Shadow- tired of having to deal with these morons- bought Taiga. And Taiga, in her cub curiosity, insisted on exploring the moving bushes. A 500 pound growing tiger was more than enough to deter the media harpies. Storm Shadow hadn't seen hide nor hair of any media people since. So he felt like he could actually walk around his house in his robe again without being attacked for 'striping'.

Tommy was escorted into a private interrogation room (special privileges for a meeting with the Emperor) and annoyed for anything he wanted. Tommy politely declined, but asked how long he had to see Snake Eyes. The man who had shown him in quietly replied that the Emperor could interrogate a supposed traitor for as long as he pleased in any way he pleased…

Tommy… really liked that answer.

Snake Eyes was escorted in cuffs, which were quickly removed as he was released into the room. Tommy motioned for the younger man to sit with a warm smile. Snakes, already happy to just be out of the boring doom and gloom of the prison, was more than happy to approach the other man. Tommy ordered the guards to leave them be, much to their protests of how dangerous a traitor was to the Emperor, but received only the most deadly glare available from the white clad man. Snake Eyes relaxed once they had seen themselves out, lounging gin the chair as Tommy took the opposing chair and slid his suit jacket off his shoulders.

"So… I take it you've been busy?" Tommy said as he looked into those beautiful blue eyes, smiling at the man silently.

"Boring… everyone here is a pervert." Snakes said as he tried to use his voice for the first time in the last 24 hours. Storm Shadow laughed as he leaned back and pushed the chair into a lounging position. Snake Eyes followed suit, putting his feet up on the table.

"Timber was happy to jump on me this morning. He really misses you… as do I…" Tommy said gently. Snakes looked at the other man with calm eyes, making sure not to express his true ideas. Oh he wanted to throw the other man on the table and ravage those lips. He'd had to watch these oversized rabbits bang like there was no tomorrow, so no one could blame him when he tried to think about something else… namely Tommy.

"Timber and Taiga ok?" Snakes asked, gently rubbing his wrists while 'allowing' his shirt to slip free a little. He wanted to throw his shirt off and reveal his chest to the other man just to watch to results and pray that Tommy didn't find him repulsive. After all, he'd been suffering these annoying dreams about the other man since puberty, but written it off as something that was wrong with him.

"They are good, well behaved pets. Timber had been looking through the front door for you every hour… Snakes… I'll find a way to clear your name… but I must know. You haven't been talking to anyone on the internet about what goes on behind the curtains have you?" Tommy asked. He had to know… he was too scared of the answer to ask last time, but today was different. If Snakes had done it unwillingly, he could rule it as an accidental leak and have Snakes out by the end of the week. Even the courts wouldn't argue with their Emperor. And as for the Commander, well… Tommy was certain that he wouldn't care as long as he had the rebels in hand.

"No…I haven't talked to anyone. Gotta believe me…" Snakes said, eyes downcast and truthful as he pushed his body towards the other man. Tommy sighed… well that plan went down the drain faster than he'd expected. He was running out of ideas to help Snakes… but he refused to give up on the man. He personally believed Snakes was innocent as a lamb… hell he KNEW that Snakes was innocent. He wouldn't hurt a fly unless it was in sparring with him or threatening his friends… and even then he wouldn't kill them.

"I believe you Snakes… Hell, I'd believe you if you told me the sky just turned purple and pink for the rest of eternity." Tommy said as he smiled at him.

* * *

Dr. Mindbender had outdone himself. This new serum was bound to be worth testing on someone in the prisons (1). Given he was currently at the Japan facility, he'd have to order some of the prison doctors to do it. He himself couldn't operate outside the European countries until the bills went through and the documents were delivered to him. So he was on his way to see Storm Shadow and annoy him for a few hours, get his mind off Snake Eyes being locked up, and maybe get the man to spill the beans on what was going on in his house before Snakes got arrested. Despite what most thought, the insane scientist was a sucker for drama. And Snakes living with the notoriously solitary man was nothing short of pure gold for the mad man.

The car pulled up to the mansion late into the evening, long past visiting hours at the prison (he knew because he'd dropped off the serum at the prison some hours ago), and Mindbender hopped out to see the white clad man 'welcome' him at the door with a disheveled look of annoyance and a half empty bottle of Vodka (only when he was stressed did the Arashikage heir actually drink, and then it was a hard drink to make him forget the world and dream only of Snake Eyes without having to explain it to his elders).

"Mindbender… what are you doing here…" The drunken man slurred. Mindbender wrote it off and approached the man with a smile.

"Why I'm here to see you! You've had some hard times dear Storm Shadow. So do tell me, what can old uncle Mindbender do to make you feel better?" The formally dressed man said as he threw an arm around the heir's shoulders, bring him close to the man's chest without actually touching him, and walking into the warm mansion's only lighted area. Storm Shadow didn't seem to protest as he was led into the mansion, only hearing the door closing as he was taken back to the sofa that was littered with a variety of meat snack wrappers, two pizza boxes, a few empty bottles of soda and alcohol, and of course, the now empty donut box. If he had to be miserable, his body's rough reaction to the excessive fat would earn him a day or two off.

"Oh dear my boy… you have been taking out this little bit of drama on yourself. May I inquire as to why?" The doctor asked, making his voice as concerning as possible.

"What's it to you?" Storm Shadow slurred as he pushed himself back onto the sofa with his arm over his eyes while his other hand slumped off the white fake leather. The half empty Vodka bottle was almost poured onto the floor as Mindbender quickly took it from him, ignoring the growls from both large cat and canine. Apparently, neither seemed to like someone who smelled deeply of chemicals and dead things in their territory.

"I'm just concerned for your wellbeing my boy! After all, there is nothing in this world that some version of science can't fix!" The mad man said as he took the time to place the bottle on the table and sit beside the younger man. Storm Shadow let out an elongated sigh as he tried to compose himself. He managed to rearrange his shoulders as he tried to make himself more comfortable.

"I… I don't know… I thought having my sword brother back was going to make things easier… make things fun again… and now this? He… I don't… *hic* don't think he did anything wrong… he wouldn't *hic*... he was happy here… happy with me… happy family…" Storm Shadow slurred. His alcohol content was gaining on his senses. Mindbender took the moment to grab a few of the bags that had landed on the floor and place them on the table to be throw out.

"Snakes… I … can't keep going… he's the last bit of family I have… not… *hic*… not letting him be killed…" Storm Shadow said as he rolled over on himself and cuddled into a thoroughly beaten pillow. Mindbender took some pity on the younger man and gently placed a hard arm underneath his torso, lifting him gently.

"It's going to be ok… Cobra Commander won't let him be killed. Worst comes to worst we will change his name. I promise… I hate seeing you like this… it's unsettling." Mindbender admitted, making sure that the man wouldn't remember what he was saying later on. Storm Shadow was too drunk right now to do anything with a reasonable amount of coordination anyways.

Mindbender carried the younger man upstairs and (after what seemed like an eternity of navigating the lower floors) found his way to the younger man's bedroom. He placed him on the ruffled bed and carefully covered him, making sure not to stir the ninja's reflexes as he did so. He turned around to see a growling Timber and a ruffled Taiga staring him down at the doorway. He lifted his hands in a submission pose and cautiously edged around the two. They both approached the bed and climbed into their respective poses as Mindbender shut the door behind them.

After quickly finding a bathroom to relieve himself in, Mindbender calmly took a few deep breathes and worked up the courage to exit the room and clean up a bit. While he wasn't use to doing other people's clean ups, he was more than glad to help on this one occasion… especially after what he'd just handed over to the prison doctors…

Snakes… might not like what was about to happen.

But Storm Shadow would never know who gave that to them. Not on his life.

* * *

Snake Eyes was awakened after a few hours of meditating to a guard telling him to follow him to the medical ward. He did as asked and was taken to the medical ward.

As soon as he sat down on the bench, he was handed a form and told to sign it. He thought it was a medical records release form (which they had to sign whenever they got a new doctor in the military), so he just signed it.

Next he knew they were cleaning his arm and giving him a shot. Then he was shoved off to his room to rest again. It was about 11 pm anyways, and sleep was slowly encroaching on his weary mind after a full 6 hours with Storm Shadow. They had talked about everything from worldly possessions to the news that was playing on the tv.

Once he was back in his cell, Snake Eyes found himself very dizzy. He plummeted onto the bed and immediately shielded himself from the light of the outer prison opening (the lights in his cell were turned off for mediation). He felt his head swimming in an array of pained bolts and jolts of headaches and soreness. His middle hurt too, but he couldn't seem to register it as well.

Sleep soon followed Snake Eyes to bed, and the slamming of the gated doors was abarely registered as the lights dimmed.

* * *

Ok… done… So! I'm going to go ahead and say something is going to happen to Snakes and Mindbender will get throttled in this next chapter for a few reasons.

Read… review… get cookies. You know the drill. (shoot my mean cohorts and I'll give you another cybercookie)


	12. Return Home

Return home

Read and Review please!

I do not own GI Joe or make any money off this.

Snake Eyes awoke to the typical bustle of the prison, head attempting to teach him a new beat as his blood pounded against his skull. He tried to sit up, only to be shoved back down on the mattress as his shoulders gave out from stress. Everything ached, and the noise from the outer area was driving him crazy. He reached his hand to his head and just held his eyebrows as he attempted to use breathing exercises to ease his pounding headache. He tried to distract himself by thinking of other things. Timber, Tiage, Tommy, back at the mansion, sleeping in each day and waking to Tommy laughing over something. He turned over on his side to block out the light as his thoughts wandered to Tommy again.

Oh that sweet smile… the perfect form when he held his sword in combat… and the way he moved when he came up from the basement command center. Fuck… why hadn't Snake Eyes taken the chance to pin him down earlier and tell him how he felt. Now there was a chance that Tommy would move on, get a girlfriend, and leave Snake Eyes to rot in prison. After all, Tommy had options. He had money, power, looks, and personality to give anyone a very happy life style. He could just keep them as pets, living with whomever he chose to for as long as he chose to. And now he was Emperor- no one in their right mind argued with the Emperor.

Snake Eyes was certain he could hear voices coming from outside his cell as he tried to bury himself under the pillow. So much noise… why was there so much noise? Why were the doors slamming? And why was everyone yelling? Oh, wait… they weren't. It was just the headaches settling in and making him feel like they were yelling. Oh what he would do to get back home right now.

"Mr. Snake Eyes?" The guard said as he knocked on the cell door. The echo of the metal was enough to make him sick to his stomach. He turned over and shielded his eyes from the light as he motioned for the guard to speak.

"You're free to go. Commander has issued you released of all charges." The guard said as he unlocked the cell door and walked in. Snake Eyes pushed himself up from the bed and tried to sit up again. He was free to go? Just like that? What the… oh hell, whatever. He wasn't going to give an argument right now. He could always ask Tommy later after all. He just wanted to go home and rest in his own bed for a few hours, and then he could seek out answers.

Snake Eyes pushed himself off the bed with the help of the guard. He tried to stand all the way up, but a sharp pain in his lower abdomen caused him to fall to his knees again. The guard rushed to his side and placed a comforting hand on his back, rubbing his muscles in an attempt to make the man feel better. Snake Eyes could only hold his stomach as he tried to calm every muscle that had clenched together in pain. He finally managed to get up, and allowed the guard to help him up and towards the lockers where they'd kept his stuff. He forced himself to get dressed slowly while the guard made sure no one bothered him. His head hurt so much he felt like he was going to pass out again. The guard helped him to his feet once again and lead him towards the door. Snake Eyes voiced his thanks, then left the dreary prison through the large steel doors. The skies were still cloudy, though some sunlight showed through, and a car was waiting for him. He approached carefully, expecting it to be for someone else.

The window rolled down and a familiar white suited wrist exited it, motioning for him to come closer. Snake Eyes obliged and got in the other side of the car, settling himself into the seat and was met with a huge kiss from a large, wet pink tongue.

"Timber!" Snake Eyes said as the large wolf threw his quivering body onto the man. His tail must have been wagging at 100 miles an hour, because Tommy couldn't see anything but a fluffy form going back and forward. He smiled as the wolf assaulted his love with the pink appendage. Personally, Tommy wished that the man would laugh like that when he worked up the courage to assault him with his tongue, but that would have to wait. After all, Mindbender was still at his place, and he owed the man a huge thank you.

_The previous evening_

_ Mindbender had been poking around the house by himself, nosing into everything imaginable. He'd even wandered into the empty room of Snake Eyes. He knew that Thomas wouldn't be happy about this, but he didn't want to hear it for the moment. He'd spoken with Cobra Commander, and apparently, even with Snake Eyes in prison, there was still information coming from the household of Storm Shadow. He'd also seen newer information coming from the Baroness and Destro's household, as well as the Dreadnoks. Something was amiss. And while he'd already sent out the orders for Snake Eyes to be released (given it was taking some time with the fucking paperwork), he told Mindbender to investigate the entire household on his orders. Someone was monitoring the Storm Shadow house without the alpha male's knowledge. _

_ So when said alpha male was passed out on his bed with an alcohol induced headache, Mindbender set out to do his orders. He scoured the kitchen, the workout room, the arcade (awesome by the way), the movie room (and found Storm Shadow's 'personal' collection of guy porn), the patio (as far as the lights would reach, he'd have to continue in the morning thanks to the limited light), and finally realized there was nothing in any of them. So, wandering back to the room he'd picked out, he met a little growling surprise. Timber had wandered downstairs and was looking at him, then to the stairs, and back to him. Well, this wasn't rocket science. The wolf simply needed to go out. _

_ So after Mindbender escorted the canine to the door a back in, he stopped to rub his head. After a moment, he came to the collar. A thought hit him like a shovel to the head. The wolf was always with Snake Eyes! In all fairness, so was the tiger, but Mindbender wasn't about to wake a slumbering feline of that size. _

_ His hands went to action, fumbling with the collar. And sure enough, appearing as nothing more than a grommet on the canine's collar, was a tiny microphone. Mindbender, elated as a kid on Christmas in a massive candy store, texted Cobra Commander with the news, and had to hold himself together as he escorted the wolf back to Storm Shadow's room (where the man was fast asleep and snoring like a log). He didn't want a try to wake a drunk ninja, the thought alone was probably suicidal. _

_ Morning came early for Mindbender, but he found himself launching his body out of bed and towards Storm Shadow's room. He carefully pried open the door to be met with the tiger and the wolf curled around their daddy. He cautiously took a seat beside Timber, and with a rub of the head, the wolf awoke. His large fangs glittered in the morning light as he yawned and rolled over. Mindbender had to admit, leave it to the ninjas to tame wild creatures. He pushed himself past the young wolf gently, trying not to pull fur or upset the wolf if he could avoid it (because chance were the tiger would attack him if he upset the wolf) and pressed a cool palm on the nude ninja's back (when did he get… well, maybe he had pants on). Waking the drunken man from his slumber, he spoke softly to him. _

_ "Storm Shadow, I've found a microphone on Timber's collar." Mindbender announced quietly. Storm Shadow mumbled drunkenly, trying to wake up at his own pace. _

_ "So what… does that mean…" Storm Shadow said as he turned over. His eyes were bloodshot and he had a look on his face that would have slain the strongest of men. Normally, Mindbender would have backed down and left the room, but not now. This was too important for his cowardly side to come to life. _

_ "It means that Snake Eyes will be freed by noon when the paperwork goes through. Commander already knows about it. I told him last night while I was poking around." Mindbender told the younger man. Storm Shadow, taking a moment to register what the other man had said, looked to the pillow, then back to the 'good' doctor. Mindbender had his moments of kindness, but Storm Shadow knew this was probably an order from Cobra Commander for his own reasons (or more likely, Duke had forced him to do something about it when he got all moody and grumpy). _

_ "You… were snooping around my house?" Storm Shadow finally said. Typically he would be pissed, but he could barely register how the other man was even in his home…_

_ "Yes, on Commander's orders. It was all to save Snake Eyes, I swear to you. Call him and ask if you don't believe me." Mindbender said as he handed the ninja the phone. Storm Shadow took the phone and started to hit the speed dial, then collapsed back onto the mattress to speak. The buzzing from the phone was enough to exacerbate his headache even more. When Cobra Commander picked up, he could barely mumble a 'good morning'. _

_ "Mindbender's in my house… says you sent him… why's he here?" Storm Shadow slurred as he covered his head with a pillow again. His voice was trying to be aggressive, but managed to get lost in the slurred drunkenness as he hid from the evil brightness of ht emorning light. Who the hell decided it had to always be sunny in the morning after a night of reckless drinking? _

_ "Oh he's supposed to be there. He found what I was hoping he'd find, and Snake Eyes will be free by noon at this rate."Cobra Commander said. Storm Shadow raised the pillow from his face and stared at the ceiling. Taiga was up and looking at him with one eye, while sizing up the focused Mindbender with her other. _

_ "I… I see… goodbye and thanks." Storm Shadow said as he hung up the phone. He shoved himself off the bed and looked Mindbender in the eye; ignore the fact that sometime in the night he'd managed to remove all his clothing. Mindbender didn't mind, the man was attractive as a nude model. _

_ "So… this assures Snake Eyes will come home?"Storm Shadow said as he took the microphone from the other man's hand and observed it. Mindbender could only watch as he turned the microphone into the most amazing oddity he'd ever seen (and while he was amused, Storm Shadow's blanket fell down to reveal his perfect body… and it didn't hide the impressive package below his waist). _

_ "Feel free to go downstairs and watch some television or something… the chef will be in soon… he can make you some breakfast…" Storm Shadow said as he sobered up for a moment and pulled the covers back around his body. Mindbender, missing his nice view, took his leave with a smile and exited swiftly. _

Now

Snake Eyes was back in his car and they were headed back to where they both belonged. Storm Shadow had left the crazy doctor to his own device in the command center while he went to pick up Snake Eyes, but Cobra Commander was on the phone with him when the white clad man left. So there was no doubt that things at the house were just fine.

As they pulled through the large forest that shielded the house from outsiders eyes, Snake Eyes head fell against Tommy's shoulder. If he wasn't sure that his hangover was still beating his head with a hammer, this was the beginning of a dream.

And that's all for now. Back on track and starting to type more, but I have physics starting next week, so I'll see how much I can get done in a few days. Read and review please!


	13. Writer's block sucks

Caught by a Cobra

Might redo a few chapters to make it more angsty… not quite sure here. But if I do, it's for the good of the story. I'm rereading it and I'm seeing parts that are just too fluffy or underdeveloped. Need to expand a little. Kinda hating some of the stuff I wrote so far. Seems… lacking.

I do not own GI Joe, IDW/Hasbro has joint rights to it. Damned divorced companies!

*crappy joke is crappy *

* * *

Snake Eyes knew in the back of his mind, he should be attempting to rejoin the Joes and help the resistance, but… that just wasn't the way things went.

The world was… better off.

Ok, given it resulted in the enslavement of many politicians, high ranking military officials, and hefty 'fines' placed on the heads of any wrongdoers; but it was somehow better.

And…-he- hadn't killed anyone.

When Snake Eyes thought that the white clad ninja would gladly take the opportunity to slay everyone that had ever wronged him, Tommy had shown that he was still a good man. His hands were covered in blood- the blood of droves of men. Good men… good people… fathers, husbands, sons, brothers…

No.

That was over.

This was a dawn of a new age.

An age where the Joes weren't needed.

And attempting to take over the world from the former Cobra organization for the sake of revenge for their past deeds was difficult… and futile. This was an improvement.

And… Snakes had his Tommy back to (relatively) normal. They could restart the school. They could stay comfortably wrapped up in the huge manor, away from the world…

In fact, the world could go fuck itself.

Snake Eyes used to think the world would fix itself over time, curing its own ailments and correcting everything wrong with politics.

But it took the conquering of an evil organization turned 'good' to get the problems with the world corrected, to which he still suspected they'd revert back any day now.

"Are you awake?" Storm Shadow's voice came from behind him. The couch had apparently been a little too comfy, seeing how he'd fallen asleep against the white clad man with the wolf on top of his lap. He hadn't meant to get so relaxed that he dozed off, but he couldn't argue. Tommy's smile made it worthwhile.

He nodded in response, trying his best to remember how to use his slowly repairing vocal cords. It still felt like sandpaper in his throat every time he breathed.

"It's getting late. Want to call it a night?" Storm Shadow asked as he reached over the black clad man to pat the grumpy wolf on the head. At least the wolf hadn't tried to bite him this time. Timber wasn't the happiest when he first woke up, and would occasionally snap or growl at people if they prodded him just right. Storm Shadow wouldn't let him on the bed if he did, but Snakes usually calmed him with a hand over his nose.

Another, slightly slower, nod from the former Joe urged Storm Shadow to sit up, gently pushing the other man up with him. The warm arm that lingered around Snake Eyes shoulder went unnoticed as they pried themselves off the sofa. Timber flopped his head back down and Storm Shadow turned the television off before following the black clad man upstairs. Snake Eyes assumed that wolf would follow him upstairs in a few minutes. Timber was a loyal wolf after all.

When the two men approached the top floor, they looked at each other to say goodnight. Before the words could even form on their tongues, Mindbender toppled out of his room, piss faced drunk and slovenly stumbling over his own feet. The gin bottle in his hand tumbled to the floor, thankfully not breaking. Storm Shadow glared at the man for interrupting his time with Snakes.

"Mindbender… what do you think you are doing?" Just because he had to allow the man to stay at his manor didn't mean that he had to like him, or be polite. Fuck all of his training in mannerisms, this lunatic was nothing short of the top of his 'to kill' list. The scientist glanced up at the white clad man as he rolled over from his position on the floor, gurgling in his own laughter.

"You… you two… are cute." Mindbender slurred. Storm Shadow glared at the imbecilic genius. If he even thought about saying-

"WHEN YOU GONNA KISS 'EM?" The moron yelped. Patience had given out, driving Storm Shadow to grab a nearby hated vase and smash it on the doctor's head. It wasn't the nicest cover up, but at least it shut the man up.

"For the last time…. He. Is. Not. My. Lover." Storm Shadow growled through clenched teeth, his voice low and demanding. He hoped that Snakes hadn't heard that, but part of him knew that the excellent hearing of the black clad man was bound to pick up the words.

Tommy turned around to see Snakes smiling at him, his healed face a picture of perfection. His legs wouldn't move… and Snakes was coming closer. He wasn't scared, but he wasn't trying to really move either. What was wrong with him? What if this happened in battle? He'd be shot, just like back in Kyoto when he'd gotten careless on the job under the influence of red wine. That bullet didn't come out well either. There was a jagged scar going from his lower left side pectoral to the middle of his chest where the ninja had to pull it out by hand while his lungs were trying to fill with blood. That was a horrible night- he'd missed his damned target thanks to one damnable bullet and missed his show!

"Snakes…" Tommy whispered as he came back to reality, noting that the black clad man had draped himself over the white ninja's shoulders. Snakes was warm… he was… different. Tommy hadn't been with many women in his time, mostly due to disinterest and the inability to get invested in long term relationships. After all, can't force a fish to fly or a bird to swim.

"Mmm…" Snakes sighed against him. Tommy was certain he was dreaming. He had to be. This wasn't happening. Snakes… Snakes was a good man. With a good woman. Who… who he loved… and… and he planned to have a family with her. Tommy was just his… his friend.

"Snakes… it's late… let's get you to bed." Tommy said as he gently pulled the younger man off of him and towards the right room. When they got to the door, Snakes wouldn't let go of him. He pushed and prodded, rubbed and crushed in the _exact_ places that Tommy didn't want to be touched.

"Snakes… Snakes, please…" Tommy tried to convince him to let go with gently pulling. Snake Eyes wouldn't have it, and stared at Tommy with the saddest eyes that the Arashikage had ever seen. It froze the former assassin in his place.

Snakes took the opportunity to test out a theory… a slightly frightening theory that he might not have wanted to hear the results to… but it needed to be done. He had to know if he could stay here any longer or if this was all just a fucked up hormone induced shit storm. If it was, then he needed to fix this now. He needed to know so Tommy could go on his way, live a full life and be happy with a woman while Snakes went back to Scarlett and got some kind of psychiatric help. He… he was a **man** after all. He should have been in love with a woman. A red headed, offering woman. Not the ebony haired beauty that he'd fallen in lo-

No.

Not until the test was over.

It wasn't love yet…

Not if it wasn't returned.

Lips brushed together-

Testing.

Teasing.

Tantalizing.

Tommy held his position.

This had to be a dream.

It had to be.

This… was too much.

And… his body wouldn't listen.

His lips responded, violating the warm mouth of the black clad ninja roughly as he crashed their bodies against the wall, grabbing the other man roughly as he savored the kiss. He grabbed the blonde hair that he'd envied for so long, rushing his fingers through the locks as he tried to get some grip on reality.

Snakes responded, slowly at first, not knowing how far this would go… and fearful that he might still lose the man he cared for. What if this was a mockery of him? A tease to pull him under, get his defenses down and slay him for being wrong?

Tommy broke the kiss, not knowing what to do as he pulled away from the other man. Rose colored lips and bright blue eyes looked at him cautiously, judging him. Tommy could read exactly what they said.

_You're vile._

He was going to run, and his legs tried to get him to escape when the black clad man grabbed his wrist.

Here it came.

Here was his execution for defiling the sacred order with his perverted ideas of his sword brother.

This was it… not that there was much to live for when Snakes saw him as-

Oh…

Oh…

Snakes lips found his again. Gentle, sweet lips that told him truths even when he had lied so many times to the other man.

"I… I don't understand." Tommy said as he allowed his frozen arms to rise from his sides, encasing the other warrior in his tight embrace. He'd wake up any moment and Snakes still wouldn't be his. That's how all of his dreams ended. Abruptly and royally messed up- leaving him feeling dirty and diseased.

"You..." Snake Eyes hushed against the darkened room.

"Me?"Tommy asked, unknowing of what the man meant.

"Training…wanted you…"

"But… you had a future… you had a life. A woman. A good job. You had everything a man could want." Tommy spoke, fearful of being teased again. He had loved the younger man in training. He killed men and terrified women just for a chance to be with Snake Eyes.

"Not… what I… wanted." Snakes said as he pulled the white assassin into his lips again.

* * *

"Any word from the good doctor?" Duke asked as he placed an ice pack on the Commander's head. Scarlett had attempted to kill him by shoving him down the stairs this time. Duke knew why she was mad, but trying to kill the only person to unite the world and fix (to some degree) all the wrongs in it was probably not a good idea. She got off lucky and was currently pouting in her room, probably trying to figure out the next plan to off the ruler.

"I… haven't checked in a few hours." Rex said as he pulled Duke into his lap as he flopped back on the bed, managing to hold the ice to his bruising forehead. He grabbed his phone from his pocket, checking for messages of any sort.

One text message appeared on the ridiculously bright screen. The minor concussion he had wasn't helping anything, but the doctors said it wasn't anything to worry about by this hour. He had to squint his eyes to see the letters on the screen.

_Mission accomplished_

"Fucking finally…" Rex grumbled, tossing the phone to one side as he allowed Duke to get behind his head, propping him up.

"Finally? His asinine plan actually worked?" Duke said as he stared at the television screen. He had always had his doubts about the validity of the madman, and this last plan to mix testosterone and serotonin was insane.

"Yup, must have gotten them to do something…" Rex said as he rolled onto his side, wrapping an arm around Duke's waist. He could feel the sleepiness coming back to him as he tried to nudge himself under the blankets.

* * *

Ok, good? Bad? Revamp please? Polite feedback would be greatly welcomed.


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